It Must Have Been the Mistletoe
by KristenLynn
Summary: Edward has avoided Bella—and her annoying crush—for three years. This year, an encounter under the mistletoe at the Chief's Christmas Eve party changes everything, in ways neither of them expected. Under the Mistletoe contest continuation, NOW COMPLETE
1. It Must Have Been the Mistletoe

**Penname:** KristenLynn

**Title: **It Must Have Been the Mistletoe

**Rating:** M for language and implied sexual situations.

**Summary: **Edward has avoided Bella—and her annoying crush—for three years. This year, an encounter under the mistletoe at the Chief's Christmas Eve party will change everything, in ways that neither of them ever expected. O/S for the Under the Mistletoe contest

**A/N:** So… An idea for a Christmas o/s came to me last weekend, and I decided to just go for it. Nothing serious or overly-meaningful here; just a little bit of fluffy holiday holiday fun. Hope you guys enjoy!

Voting for the contest starts 12/26. To vote and see other entries: (http) mpfcontests. blogspot. com / p / under-mistletoe. html

Special thanks to wonderful team of betas/prereaders, including **coreenc**, **HollettLA**, **Kaydee1005, **and **Viola Cornuta** for their speedy skills (a few hours each)! You guys are the best.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight; all respective characters belong to SMeyer.

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**Edward**

_Dammit! _

_Not this shit again._

I'd been here less than ten minutes, and already, history was repeating itself. Bella Swan was standing in the doorway across the room, glancing shyly in my direction with huge puppy dog eyes and a look of intense longing on her face.

Again.

Rolling my eyes, I huffed in frustration and turned away from her. Hell, I should be used to this; I'd been the object of her not-so-secret crush for the past three-and-a-half years, ever since she moved in next door right before the start of her freshman year. That first summer, her never-ending attention had been novel, cute almost, and I'd enjoyed making her blush and stutter just by talking to her. But once school had started, her constant attempts to get my attention—the yearning gazes, embarrassed blushes, and stilted attempts at conversation—became annoying. It was especially irritating when she did that shit in front of Lauren Mallory, the popular girl _I'd_ had a secret crush on at the time. And when both Emmett and Jasper began to tease me in front of the entire football team about the new girl's constant attention, the awkward exchanges weren't cute anymore. In fact, they pissed me the fuck off.

After that, I'd done my best to discourage her, to the point of being quite mean about it. I cringe now to think of some of the horrible things I'd said. But none of it had mattered anyway… Even if she hadn't spoken to me anymore, I'd still felt her watching me all the time. Sometimes I would catch her; if I turned quickly or unexpectedly, she couldn't mask that look of longing on her face before she'd look away, and a heated blush would tint her cheeks pink. Other times, she'd been quicker, but I'd still known.

For three years, I'd managed to avoid Bella at school and, for the most part, at home, even though she lived right next door. I'd honestly believed that my going away to college this year would provide the separation that we both obviously _needed_ at this point, that distance from me would help her to move on. But I guess that was way too fucking much to hope. Even though I'd only come home twice during the semester, both those visits happened to coincide with certain events that I couldn't avoid—certain events where I was forced to be in her presence—such as the Labor Day cookout and Thanksgiving gathering that our family hosted every year. The annual Christmas Eve gathering at Chief Swan's house was another such event.

That was how, on December 24th, I found myself inside Bella's home, attempting to ignore her while she stood across the room eyeing me longingly from underneath a God-damn sprig of mistletoe.

Of course, my mother made it hard to carry out my objective.

"Go talk to Bella, honey," she cajoled. "She looks so lonely standing over there all by herself, and you know how much she looks up to you."

I gritted my teeth in frustration at my mother's words.

_Looks up to me, my ass! More like, she wants to __**hook**__ up with me._

I knew that Mom was just looking out for Bella, trying to make sure that she was included in the festivities. She meant well. She just had a bad habit of trying to mother-hen anyone and anything that seemed lost. And at the time of her return to Forks, Bella had obviously been lost, so my mother had naturally gathered the young girl under her wing.

The Bella I recalled from childhood, the one who came to visit for two weeks every summer, was all big-toothed smiles, freckle-spattered nose, wild hair and mischievous hot chocolate eyes. The Bella that moved back here to live with her father the summer her mother had died was someone completely different. There'd been no smiles, the freckles had faded away due to lack of sun, she'd chopped all her hair off, and her eyes had been dull and lifeless—except for when she looked at me. Of course, my mother had noticed that shit straight away and had done her best to include Bella in all gatherings our family hosted that summer. She'd been treating her like a daughter ever since.

My eyes slid to the side to look covertly at Bella. I shoved my hands into my pockets as I took in everything about her. Senior year seemed to be agreeing with her; she smiled a bit more now, and her hair had grown back. While the distance between us prevented me from telling anything about the freckles or her eyes, I couldn't help but notice the subtle differences that I had missed at Thanksgiving; her face was thinner and her body curvier, although that might've been an illusion created by the tight-fitting jeans and sweater that she was wearing. She had changed physically, but I had no doubt that Bella was now playing to my mother's sympathies, same as always. Over the years, she'd learned how to manipulate every situation so that we ended up in the same room at the same time. It'd happened more times than I could count. Case in point: right now, Bella and my mother were having some sort of silent conversation from across the room that involved a lot of blushing and sly glances from the former and small smiles and encouraging head nods from the latter.

Clenching my jaw, I turned away and excused myself to the restroom, where I took fifteen minutes to just… be. Alone.

When I finally reemerged into the Swan's living room, more people had arrived. I sighed in relief when I spotted Bella talking to another girl by the dining room table—a nice, safe distance from the mistletoe that hung in the doorway. My eyes quickly scanned the room and landed on Jasper and Emmett, who were having a conversation by the fireplace. For the first time that night, a smile broke upon my lips. Damn, I'd missed my two best friends!

The missing spring returned to my steps as I crossed the room.

"Fuck, it's really great to see you guys!" I clapped them both on the shoulder. "It's been way too long!"

"Dude!" Emmett greeted enthusiastically with a wide smile and a fist bump. "Man, it does feel like forever. But still, I can't believe we've finished our first semester of college already."

"I know," Jasper admitted as he pulled me in for quick man-hug. "We're officially adults now!"

I laughed. "Jas, I think we've been adults for a while now."

He rolled his eyes. "I know, but moving out made it all _real_. Honestly, it feels kinda strange being back. I know that everything is the same, but it's different somehow, if you know what I mean?"

I nodded. I knew exactly what he meant. After almost five months of freedom, I was chomping at the bit after less than a week in my parents' house. Not that they asked where I went or what I did, but I knew my mom still worried.

"We've gotten a taste of independence, boys," I announced. "Nothing sucks worse than going back to jail after you've been roaming the world completely free."

"Yeah…" Emmett sighed in agreement. "My mom gave me a curfew over the weekend. Can you believe that shit?"

Jasper and I both laughed at the disgusted look on Em's face, but yeah… I totally believed it. Mrs. McCarty was a hard-ass of epic proportions. She'd always been on Emmett's case about something, whether it be grades or girls. I suspected that she just didn't want him to end up like his father—a good-for-nothing loser who had left them for another woman when Emmett was ten—but still, he'd had it a lot rougher than any of the rest of us.

"Told me to be in by midnight, or else she'd 'ground' me for the rest of vacation."

"You're kidding, right?" Jasper asked.

"Sadly, no. And you guys know my mom… She was waiting up for me when I got home—on time, I might add, because there was no way I was gonna piss her off on my first night back."

He sighed dramatically, and I did my best to not laugh, but fuck, was that shit funny! Emmett towered over his mother by at least ten inches and outweighed her by more than eighty pounds, but he was still scared shitless of her. I turned to Jas, and once again, we busted out laughing.

Emmett's scowl deepened when Jasper and I continued to chortle, rather than come to his defense. He crossed his arms on his chest and looked away. I should've recognized the sly look that crossed his face, but I was too busy laughing about his troubles to focus on anything else.

"Obviously, I'm not the only one dealing with baggage from the past," he snarked.

"Huh?" I asked between chortles. "What are you talking about?"

The two words he spoke caused me to stop laughing immediately and stiffen in annoyance.

"Bella Swan."

He chuckled evilly at my response.

"She's staring at you, Cullen." While waggling his eyebrows at me, he waved at someone over my shoulder—I can only assume it was Bella—and winked. He laughed at whatever response his actions elicited. "Oh man, that girl _still_ has it fucking bad for you."

Jasper joined in with Emmett's enthusiastic chuckles, which caused me to scowl.

"What are you laughing about, Whitlock?" I sneered. "Did you happen to see who Bella is talking to?"

That shut him up pretty fucking quickly, his eyes darting nervously towards the dining room. I saw the "_Oh, shit!"_ look cross his face and smirked. If Bella was my nemesis, Alice Brandon was Jasper's. Only unlike Bella, Alice wasn't shy about her affection. Not to mention, Jasper actually had hooked up with her one night at a party over the summer, right before he left for college. He'd been too fucked up to even remember what had happened the next morning, but Alice had been chasing after him ever since, begging for a repeat performance.

"Fuck!" he cursed under his breath as he contemplated his means of escape. Before he could even take a step, Alice's screeching voice rang out across the room.

"Jazzy!"

"Um… Later, guys," he called over his shoulder as he bolted from the room.

Emmett and I collapsed in a fit of laughter when Alice took off after Jasper.

"I guess some things never change, huh?" I asked ruefully.

"Nope," he replied. "Maybe I should be happy that it's just my mother giving me a hard time, rather than unrequited love."

"Maybe," I drawled. "But love's not all that bad, is it, Em? How's Rose?"

Rosalie Hale was Emmett's girlfriend. They'd been together since they were fifteen, and she was the one girl who didn't annoy the crap out of me with all her girly bullshit. She was hard-nosed and prickly, but straightforward and honest, and she knew how to dish it out as well as receive. In other words, she was a great friend and perfect for Emmett.

He smiled brightly. "Dude! She's great. She'll be home in the morning, and I can't fucking wait to see her! We haven't seen each other since Thanksgiving."

Rosalie was attending college in Texas, while Emmett had gone cross-country to Tennessee. They had only seen each other a few times this semester, and the frustration and longing in his voice informed me that he was finding the separation hard.

Suddenly, a flurry of activity by the door caught my eye, and I looked over Emmett's shoulder to find more people entering the house, brushing snowflakes out of their hair. It was a large group of _very_ large guys and one girl. When the tall blonde raised her finger to her lip in a plea for silence as she tip-toed our way, I smiled. Sliding my gaze back to Emmett, I decided to fuck with him a bit.

"So, Em… what you gonna do first when you see Rose tomorrow?"

"After I show her how much I've missed her?" he asked, making a crude gesture indicating sexual activity.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, so _that_ comes first, huh?"

"Fuck yeah! It's been over a month. A man's got needs right?"

"And what needs might those be?" Rose asked as she punched him lightly in the waist.

"Baby!" he exclaimed in surprise as he turned to her. Sweeping her up in his arms, he kissed her deeply. "What're you doing home? I didn't think you were getting in until tomorrow?"

"I wasn't supposed to be, but I found someone to cover my last shift and caught an earlier flight. I wanted to surprise you. Did it work?"

"Hell, yeah. Best surprise, ever! God, baby, I've missed you!"

More kisses followed his declaration, and I think that Emmett might have tried to cop a feel. I rolled my eyes and laughed softly at their over-exuberant antics. Usually, public displays of affection annoyed the shit out of me, but for some reason, seeing Emmett and Rose reunited made me smile. And possibly feel a bit… _jealous_?

Not to be smug, but I was a good looking guy. I'd never been short of female attention—far from it. Most times, I could have whomever I wanted whenever I wanted them. However, looking around, there was no one there that I had any desire to hook up with tonight. Lauren was there, beautiful as always and eyeing me speculatively, but she was my ex, and that was a can of fucking worms I did _not_ want to re-open, for many reasons. Jessica Stanley was obviously trying to flirt, but she'd banged Mike Newton junior year, and there was no way in hell my dick was going anywhere near pussy that had been even remotely associated with that douche-bag. Angela Weber was looking hot, but she was obviously here with Ben Cheney. Hell… even Bella appeared to be flirting with one of the tall, dark-skinned guys from the pack that had entered the house with Rose.

Five minutes later, Em and Rose were still kissing, while I was still alone. A twinge of… _something_… tickled at my gut and caused me to frown. In the past, I'd never been bothered by the fact that I'd had no real long-term relationships. I'd been perfectly content with random hookups and meaningless sex. But witnessing the obvious love and genuine affection between my two friends made me realize that something was missing in my own life. Correction: not just some_thing. _Some_one_.

Someone special.

~/~

It was well after eleven o'clock before the party began to wind down. The parents were all really fucking smashed and were singing off-key and off-color carols by the fireplace; the lyrics had lost all semblance of appropriateness about an hour ago. Needing a break from the horrendous noise and sexual innuendo, I wandered to the dining room table—being careful to skirt the mistletoe that hung in the doorway—where I scarfed down some food in an attempt to counteract the booze I'd been drinking on the sly. There was a lot beer and liquor, but since this was the Police Chief's house, no one underage was partaking in the Chief's offerings. That said, Emmett had stashed a fifth of authentic Tennessee whiskey in his car, and we'd been covertly sipping it from his trusty—and hidden—flask all evening.

Rose and Emmett had quietly disappeared about half an hour ago. Jasper had left shortly afterwards, and I'd chuckled when Alice followed him out. However, this time, he didn't seem quite so averse to her attention or affection. The liquor probably helped. And speaking of alcohol, a substantial amount of Jack Daniels was now humming through my bloodstream, making me feel warm and carefree. So much so, that I hadn't even noticed Bella was on the other side of the room until I heard her speak.

"Jake…"

Her voice was breathless, but not in a good way. I turned towards the sound, but my view of her was blocked by a large body. She spoke again, and even in my intoxicated state, I could sense her distress.

"You've been drinking, haven't you? You only bring this up when you're drunk! You already know my answer."

"Aw, Bells. C'mon," he slurred. "It's Christmas. Besides, you know that our fathers want this. That's why they keep throwing us together all the time. Why do you think I'm here tonight, huh?"

His voice was slightly rough, like he was trying to sound sexy and convincing at the same time. I took a step to the side, bringing Bella into view. She didn't pay me any attention, but that was probably because she was completely focused on the guy from the reservation. He was tall—much taller than my own 6'2" height—and dark—dark skin, dark hair, dark eyes that stared at her intently. I frowned at the boldness of his gaze, as well as her uncomfortable expression. Then he reached down and grabbed Bella's hand. He took a step forward before he answered his own question.

"Your dad invited me. Told me to 'keep you company' tonight."

The way he said it suggested another, deeper meaning, and Bella scowled at him. She tried to yank her hand away, but he wouldn't relinquish it, instead stepping closer. Her eyes widened, and she stepped backwards in response, tugging her hand again.

"Jake," she warned. "Let me go."

But he didn't. She continued backing up, and for each step she took, he followed, until she was standing in the doorway that opened into the main room of the house. A wide smile lit his face.

"Aw, Bells… Look at that. You're under the mistletoe. You know what that means..."

She looked up, horrified to find that she was indeed under the mistletoe, and he stepped forward to take advantage of her up-turned face. The look of sheer panic that flashed across her features as she realized her mistake caused me to react involuntarily—nobody deserved to be manhandled like that. My hand clenched in anticipation, but when I took a step forward, I tripped into the table, knocking several serving bowls to the floor. The resounding crash as the ceramic smashed to the floor caused them both to jump. In the second that his attention was diverted, she yanked her hand away and ran from the room. He growled in frustration.

I was buzzed, not drunk, but one look at his face was enough to let me know that I needed to be careful. Deciding to play up my drunken state, I leaned heavily against the table and slurred my words when I spoke.

"Sorry about that, man."

He glared at me. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

Then he stomped out of the dining room and into the den where the pack of tall, dark-skinned guys was laughing loudly. He shot them a dirty look, and the middle finger, before he stormed out the front door. They laughed even louder, then followed him out. As soon as they were gone, I went in search of Bella.

I found her in the kitchen, curled up in a chair at the table, her chin resting on her knees.

"Bella?"

She looked up, frowning in confusion when she saw me standing in the doorway.

"You okay?" I asked.

She nodded, but a tear leaked from the corner of her eye. She wiped at it furiously, then took a deep breath, which turned into a sob. She didn't look okay at all to me. Unsure of what to do, I stayed motionless in the doorway and continued to look at her questioningly.

"Yeah," she replied.

Her voice was dull, lifeless. The way she looked reminded me of her first summer back, when she was fourteen. Right after her mother died. She was once again acting like _she_ had died, too, and it fucking bothered me.

"You sure?" I finally asked.

She took another deep breath. "He's not normally like that. He's usually sweet and kind, and he does look out for me. But when he drinks… Well, you saw."

"Bella…"

She lifted her head and pinned me with a steely look. "It's okay, Edward. This is my problem, and I'll deal with it."

"That looked like more than just a problem. Bella, he wasn't listening to you. You said 'no'…"

"Yeah. I tell him 'no' every time he gets like this. I also manage to escape relatively unscathed every time, so no harm done."

"This has happened before?" I asked incredulously.

She nodded. My jaw clenched.

"Does your dad know that he's… that he pushes you like that?"

She shook her head.

"Bella, you can't let that continue. You need to tell your dad. It's not right. Especially if he is pushing you to…" My words trailed off, and I made a gesture with my hands to indicate togetherness.

She snorted. "It's not as bad as it seems. Is it annoying? Hell, yes. Do I wish he would knock it off? Of course! But he _is_ my friend. He just wishes it was more—he's got a crush. It won't kill me. But I know how he feels, unrequited love is a bitch…"

I inhaled sharply. Her eyes flew to mine, widening in surprise as she realized what she had just said, and to whom.

"Oh, God…" she whispered, her hand lifting to cover her mouth as she continued to stare wide-eyed at me. Emotions danced across her face—embarrassment, regret, acceptance, resolve.

Suddenly, she was laughing. And crying. All at once. Loud snorting sobs accompanied by more tears that left me feeling paralyzed, not knowing how to respond. When her head dropped back to her knees, my feet moved of their own accord, carrying me across the room until I was standing by her side. I reached out, and she jumped when I laid my hand on her shoulder.

"Bella?"

"I'm sorry," she cried into her knees. "So sorry."

I sat down in the chair next to her, not moving my hand. "Why are you sorry, he—"

Her head snapped up, and my hand fell from her shoulder at the suddenness of her motion. "I'm not sorry about this, him. I'm sorry about what I did—what I've been doing—to _you_. It's the same. Worse, maybe."

"No," I cut her off. "What you did wasn't remotely the same. You had a crush. But you never did anything like what he did to you tonight. And I should be apologizing to you, anyways."

She swiped at her eyes.

"Huh? Why should you apologize to me? I was the one making a nuisance of myself."

"Bella," I sighed, sinking further into my chair. Raising my hand to my head, I plunged it into my hair in frustration. "I was horrible to you. I've felt guilty about that for quite some time."

"I deserved it."

"No."

She shot me a pointed look. "I did. I was a complete nuisance, following you around, staring all the time."

"Well, you _did_ do those things, but I still should have been nicer."

"You're being nice now," she announced. "I think that makes up for it."

Her words caused me to freeze in my seat.

I was having a nice, _normal_ conversation with Bella Swan.

_How the fuck had that happened?_

For the first time, ever, she wasn't stuttering or looking at me with puppy dog eyes. In fact, the expression on her face was completely different than the one she was wearing only a few short hours ago. It was… friendly.

"Well, you're being nice, too." I shot her a suspicious look. "This is weird."

She laughed—a real laugh this time. A throw-your-head-back and laugh-from-the-bottom-of-your-stomach laugh. It sounded nice. Hell, it sounded more than nice, and awareness shivered down my spine at the sight and sound of Bella laughing.

"Yeah, it is a bit weird, isn't it? For as much time as we've spent together over the years, we've never really talked."

I smiled wryly. "That might be because you could never form a complete sentence whenever I talked to you in the past."

Hot pink color tinged her cheeks at my statement, and she looked down in embarrassment.

"Um, yeah… Sorry about that."

"It's okay," I quickly reassured. "But I'm just curious… what's different now?"

She looked up and frowned slightly. "I don't really know. I mean, even earlier tonight—when I first saw you—I still felt the same way I always have when it comes to you. But now, after… well, _you know_… it's just different. I can't explain it." The frown slowly morphed into a smile. "I like it better like this."

"Me, too."

At my words, her smile brightened even further. In that moment, I realized that I'd never seen Bella truly smile before. Her lips curled up at the edges in a way that changed her entire face, making her look… _beautiful_. I was a bit shocked by my response, but I couldn't deny the appeal of that smile. It was infectious, and I couldn't help but smile in response.

We spent the next hour hiding out in the kitchen and talking about everything—our families, mutual friends, school, where she had applied for college. Now that she was no longer stuttering and could carry on a real conversation, I was surprised to find that we had a lot in common. And that I actually enjoyed talking to Bella Swan.

I shook my head in disbelief.

_Who woulda thunk it?_

"What?" she asked, with a small smile.

"Well…" I shook my head wryly. "I'm just surprised, that's all."

"About what?"

I took a deep breath. "This has actually been fun."

Her smile faded, and her eyes pinched into a confused frown. "It has, hasn't it?"

"Well, you don't have to look that… put out about it," I joked, leaning forward a bit.

She immediately dropped her eyes to her lap, and a rush of color flooded her cheeks. In the past, her blushing had annoyed me, but tonight, for some strange reason, I found it endearing.

"I'm kidding, Bella," I stated, willing her to look back up at me.

When she did, I was rewarded by the color that still heated her skin and made her eyes appear as if they were twinkling. In an attempt to reassure her, I smiled. A real smile, not the fake shit I had always thrown her way. One I meant. One I _felt_ in my gut. Her eyes widened, and she parted her lips on a shaky breath, her tongue darting out to swipe across her full, bottom lip. I couldn't help but watch the wet, pink tip as it peeked out, which caused _me_ to suck in a suddenly shaky breath. At the sound, her tongue was replaced by her teeth, and suddenly, I was feeling something unexpected in a place much lower than my gut.

_Holy shit! _

I was concentrating intently on her mouth, which appeared to be getting closer and closer, and my hand had just begun to inch in the direction of her face when the kitchen door flew open and Chief Swan walked into the room carrying an armload of dirty dishes. We both jerked upright, suddenly aware of how we had leaned into each other over the course of the last few minutes.

"Bella!" He smiled at her. Then his eyes landed on my face, and a confused frown replaced his smile. "Edward?"

Bella rolled her eyes, breaking eye contact. I fell back into my chair and looked away, finally free from the intense connection that had been holding us captive. I turned to Bella's father.

"Chief Swan," I greeted.

He was still frowning. "Your parents left a while ago, Edward. I think they thought you had already gone."

I didn't exactly know what his point was.

"Well, I've been in here for a while. Bella was upset earlier, and she and I got to talking…"

Chief Swan turned to his daughter. "Why were you upset? Did something happen?"

She shot me a dirty look and crossed her arms defensively on her chest, but addressed her father.

"Jake and I had a misunderstanding."

"It looked like more than just a 'misunderstanding' to me," I muttered under my breath.

The dirty look turned into a frosty glare, and I had to work hard to keep from laughing out loud at the outraged look on her face. This was supposed to be a serious discussion, about a serious breach of trust between Bella and her so-called friend, but she just looked so… _cute_… when she was angry.

Once again, I was shocked by my thoughts and feelings.

"Bella? What does Edward mean?" her father asked, thankfully interrupting my inner musings.

With one last glare in my direction, she sighed. "We'll talk about it later, Dad…" At my raised eyebrows, she added a whispered, "I promise."

Satisfied that she would discuss what happened with her father, not to mention thrown for one hell of a loop by all of the events of the evening, I pushed to my feet and turned to Bella's father.

"Do you need some help cleaning up?"

"Nah," he answered with a friendly smile. "I can get it." Then Charlie addressed his daughter. "Bella, why don't you show Edward out? I'm sure his parents are wondering where the heck he is about now."

He turned to me and raised his eyebrows questioningly. A quick glance at my watch revealed that it was now 12:45am.

_Damn it to hell_.

My mother _would_ be wondering where the hell I was. I sighed, and the Chief laughed softly. After living next door for almost twenty years, he obviously knew my mother pretty well.

"Good call," I muttered. "Thanks, Chief."

He smiled again. "Sure thing, Edward."

I swear his moustache twitched.

Not wanting to face any more awkward questions, I turned to leave the kitchen. The sound of Bella's chair scraping against the floor let me know that she was following. Pushing through the door, I walked through the dining room. Just before I reached the doorway to the main room, her voice halted me.

"Stop!"

When I turned to look at her, she was eyeing the ceiling warily. When I followed her gaze, there it was. The mistletoe. Her next words wiped the near-smile from my lips.

"Would you take it down?"

Nodding, I grabbed a chair from the table. After stepping onto it, I reached up to remove the sprig of plant from the doorway. I held it out to her, but she shook her head vehemently.

"I don't want it anymore," she stated sadly. "In fact, I'll probably never hang another sprig of mistletoe ever again. Nothing good ever comes of trying to trick someone into kissing you."

I just nodded again. Not knowing exactly what to do, I clenched my fist around the now-offensive sprig—pretty much squashing it—and continued to the front door.

When she opened the door, the biting cold penetrated my thin sweater. The air was crisp and fresh, and it _smelled_ like snow. When I looked, I gasped at the view that met my eyes. Everything was completely white. It had obviously been snowing all evening—several inches were on the ground—and flakes were still swirling frantically in the air. It was peaceful and pristine. Breathtaking.

Turning to look at Bella, I was captivated by her awestruck expression—eyes wide and twinkling, another breathtaking smile on her face that completely transformed her.

"It's so pretty," she whispered, turning to look at me.

"Yes, it is."

I didn't mean the snow.

At my response, her eyes searched mine, her smile fading, the steamy puffs of her breath informing me just how quickly and shallowly she was breathing. Unable to resist, I took a small step forward. Unlike earlier with Jake, she didn't retreat from me; her eyes remained locked on mine, and our steamy breaths mingled in the air between us. A gust of wind blew across the porch, causing us to move even closer together and dislodging a lock of hair from her loose ponytail.

I lifted my hand to brush it away, only to find the now-crumpled mistletoe still crushed between my fingers. Without thought, I lifted it above her head and leaned down to brush my lips gently against hers. The gesture was simple and innocent, but electric awareness shimmered where our lips met, causing both of us to suck in gasping breaths. Lifting my head, I stared down in awe at the girl who I had considered the bane of my existence for the past three years. With her head thrown back, eyes closed and mouth opened slightly, she was stunning.

When she finally opened her eyes, I smiled shyly at her. A fiery blush colored her cheeks, but she was smiling widely, and her eyes were twinkling in a way I had never witnessed before. I dropped my hand, offering her the sprig of mistletoe. She hesitated, but eventually took it from my hand.

"That wasn't so bad, was it, kissing under the mistletoe?"

She shook her head, a small furrow appearing on her brow. Before she could say anything, I leaned in once again, capturing her lips with my own. This kiss wasn't quite as innocent—my now-empty hands came to rest on her hips, pulling her closer, and I sucked her bottom lip into my mouth. She tasted sweet and rich at the same time, like strawberries and honey. It was simultaneously simple and decadent, and needing more, I pushed my tongue into her mouth. She shivered and moaned softly as I stroked my tongue gently against hers, and her hands moved to grasp my arms.

With a small groan of my own, I pulled back and waited once again for her to open her eyes. When she did, she looked at me in a daze, eyes full of questions.

"No mistletoe that time," I stated in a serious tone. "No trick."

Her eyes widened in understanding. I chuckled and took a step back, needing to put some distance between us while I was still able to do so.

With one last smile, I turned to leave. Something on the ground caught my eye. Reaching down, I picked up the sprig of mistletoe that was now lying in the snow at our feet. I held it out to her, and this time she accepted it willingly.

"Thank you," she whispered.

She wasn't talking about the mistletoe.

"Anytime," I replied with a tender smile.

I was amazed to realize that I meant it.

"Merry Christmas, Edward," she stated softly.

"Merry Christmas, Bella."

As I walked home, I felt different. New. Pristine, just like the new-fallen snow that I was walking in—there were no footprints ahead of me, and only my own behind me. I had been given a new chance. No, wait… Bella and I had been given a new chance, together. It was a chance to start over. A chance to be real friends, and possibly much, much more, if that kiss was any indication.

~/~

Later that night, as I lay in bed trying to wrap my head around all the crazy shit that had gone down tonight, I found myself softly humming one of the Christmas tunes that the parents had been singing (very badly) earlier. I laughed when I realized what song it was, although even I had to admit that the lyrics were quite fitting.

For the first time, ever I was actually looking forward to Christmas dinner with the Swans and another chance to see Bella.

* * *

"It Must Have Been the Mistletoe"

It must have been the mistletoe,  
The lazy fire, the Fallin' Snow,  
The magic in the frosty air  
That feeling everywhere

It must have been the pretty lights,  
That glistened in the Silent Night.  
Or maybe just the stars so bright  
That shined above you.

Our first Christmas, more than we'd been dreaming of.  
Old Saint Nicolas had his fingers crossed that we would fall in love.

It could have been the holiday,  
The midnight ride upon a sleigh,  
The country side all dressed in white,  
That crazy snowball fight.

It could have been the steeple bell,  
That wrapped us up within its spell.  
It only took one kiss to know  
It must have been the mistletoe.

Our first Christmas, more than we'd been dreaming of.  
Old Saint Nicolas must have known that kiss would lead to all of this.

It must have been the mistletoe,  
the lazy fire, the fallin' snow,  
The magic in the frosty air  
That made me love you.

On Christmas Eve a wish came true-  
The night I fell in love with you.  
It only took one kiss to know  
It must have been the mistletoe.

* * *

**A/N:** Merry Christmas, 2010!


	2. Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

**A/N: **Hey guys, MistletoeWard is back! I purposely left the o/s open-ended in case I decided to add a bit more to this story, and inspiration hit the day after Christmas. Follow-up is now complete: 6 relatively short chapters of fluffy, holiday fun. I'm planning to post every-other day, so there won't be a long wait between updates.

Thanks to **Kaydee1005** for betaing.

**Disclaimer:** SM owns Twilight. I just added some mistletoe and a lot of snow to the mix.

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Part II: Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!**

**Christmas Day**

I was rudely yanked from sensual dreams of soft lips and eager kisses by what felt like an earthquake—my entire bed was shaking violently. Not good for me, considering I was lying on my stomach and sporting a raging hard-on. Groaning loudly, I cracked my eyes and tilted my head to find my little sister bouncing eagerly on my bed.

"_Edward_! It's time to get up!" she sang in time to her bounces.

"C'mon, squirt, cut it out," I grunted. "Go away. I'm tired."

"It's Christmas morning, dummy, and Mommy says that I can't open my presents until you get up. So… Get up. Now!"

The bed was still moving, and I was still bouncing up and down on my painfully hard erection. Gritting my teeth, I shoved my hands beneath my hips in an attempt to absorb some of the impact. In between bounces, I managed to twist my head to look at the clock. It was after eight o'clock. On Christmas morning no less, which was essentially the middle of the afternoon to a nine year old who'd probably been up since the ass-crack of dawn.

"Okay, okay," I grumbled. "I'm up"

_In more ways than one_.

I groaned again. At least I finally stopped bouncing when Bree flopped down on the mattress beside me, then sprang off the bed.

"Hurry up, Edward," she sang as she ran out of my room and down the hallway. I heard her yelling "He's up, he's up!" as she made her way down the stairs.

I rolled my eyes, but I had to smile at her exuberance. I also realized that in some ways I envied her. Life was simple when you're a child. On this day, for her, it was all about Santa and presents, the gifts a "reward" for being good all year. My smile faded. While last night had ended on a surprisingly sweet note, I couldn't help but think that kiss was a reward I didn't deserve. For more than three years, I hadn't been nice. In fact, I'd been a complete fucking asshole to Bella. But instead of a stocking full of coal, I had been given an amazing gift, even if it was one that confused the hell out of me.

Rolling to my side, I pushed myself upright, allowing my feet to dangle from the side of the bed for a moment. I hadn't slept much, and I now felt like shit. It had been late when I'd finally gotten home last night. Luckily, my parents had already gone to bed, so I hadn't had to face an inquisition concerning my whereabouts. But when I'd climbed into bed, I couldn't sleep. My mind had been racing with thoughts of Bella and the shocking events of the evening.

I'd never imagined that I would see Bella as anything other than an annoying girl with an annoying crush on me. Yet, in a few short hours, I'd learned more about her than I had in the previous three years. Suddenly, I saw her in a completely different light: she was smart, funny, and… _attractive_. Interesting and beautiful. All were words that, if you'd asked me twelve hours ago, I'd swear I would _never_ associate with Bella. Now? Somehow they weren't enough.

I'd tossed and turned in bed for several hours last night, examining each moment I'd spent with her over and over again. Particularly the reactions I'd had to her: the way her smile made me want to smile in return; the sense of _awareness_ that had washed over—and through—me with her first real laugh; and the feeling of completeness, of homecoming, when I'd kissed her.

It was especially confusing because this was _Bella Swan _I was thinking about. Bella Swan, who'd pissed me off by following me around for years like a little lost puppy, staring longingly, and constantly attempting to flirt. Bella Swan, who hadn't been able to form coherent sentences when I spoke to her. Bella Swan, who'd inserted herself into all of our family gatherings in an attempt to get closer to me. Bella Swan, who'd resorted to hanging a sprig of fucking mistletoe in an attempt to get me to kiss her.

In the end, I had kissed her all on my own.

And I'd liked it.

A lot.

A whole fucking lot.

In fact, I'd liked it so much, the only thing I now wanted for Christmas this year was the opportunity to kiss her again.

Just thinking about her soft lips touching mine, the feel of my fingers digging into the surprisingly delectable curve of her backside, and the sound of her breathless moans caused me to groan again. I scowled in irritation as I shoved at my now-throbbing erection.

Knowing that my sister would be back sooner rather than later if I didn't show up downstairs, I pushed myself off the bed and headed to the bathroom where I immediately started the shower. As soon as I stepped under the stream of hot water, my hand was wrapped around my cock, stroking insistently. Closing my eyes, I lost myself in the memories. All I saw was warm brown eyes, which twinkled in the glow of a snowy evening. All I felt was the silken skin of her lips, which seared my own upon first contact. All I tasted was strawberries and honey, which burst upon my tongue when I'd sucked her lip into my mouth.

It didn't take long.

Bracing myself against the wall with one arm, I growled out her name as I found release. The recalled sounds of her soft moans echoed through my mind as I came down, standing under the spray until my breath to returned to normal.

As I toweled off a few minutes later, it dawned on me that I'd just jacked off to an image of Bella Swan. An ironic smile twitched at the corner of my lips, and I shook my head at the thought—it was yet another thing that, prior to last night, I never imagined I would do. The smile quickly faded. It was surreal to think about how much had changed in those few short hours last night.

My entire world had been flipped on its axis.

Lost in the unexpectedly pleasant and pleasurable memories from last night, I hadn't taken the time to consider what would happen next. I knew what I wanted to happen—I wanted to kiss her again. But I hadn't thought beyond the action itself, hadn't thought about how it would affect us.

My thoughts sobered as I yanked on a pair of jeans and t-shirt. Any change in our… _relationship_… would definitely affect me. My mother had been encouraging Bella for a while, so I suspected that she would be supportive. But what would my friends think? I groaned as I imagined the shit I would get from Emmett and Jasper. After years of complaining about Bella's annoying crush? I groaned again.

_Fuck! _

Yeah, that definitely wouldn't be pretty.

Sighing in frustration, I shoved my feet into a pair of slippers and headed downstairs to begin the Holiday festivities. Unfortunately, the inquisition I'd avoided last night started as soon as I entered the kitchen.

"You were out late last night, honey."

Refusing to be drawn into that particular line of conversation, I simply grunted an affirmative response to my mother's statement as I walked to the counter and popped two pieces of bread into the toaster. Delaying the inevitable even longer, I made a show of pouring myself a cup of coffee. Standing with my back to her, she couldn't see the knowing smile that had spread on my lips. I knew my non-answer would kill her, that she couldn't—_wouldn't_—let it go. She was nosy beyond belief, needing to know everything. It was only a matter of time.

Starting in five, four, three, two…

"So… What were you doing?"

I shook my head and chuckled wryly as I reached for a plate. My mother was nothing if not predictable. However the tone of her voice revealed that she really was curious. She obviously hadn't talked to Chief Swan today, or if she had, he hadn't said anything. Thank God. I procrastinated for a moment longer by slathering butter and jam on my toast before I answered.

"Not much. Just talking with…" My voice trailed off, and my smile faded into a thoughtful frown. In no hurry to enlighten my mother to the fact that I had been at the Swan's talking to Bella last night, I completed my thought generically. "…a friend."

"Hmm… Anyone I know?" she prodded.

Grabbing my plate and mug, I turned to make my way to the den. As I passed her, I leaned down to give my mother a brief kiss on the cheek and a bright smile.

"Good morning to you, too, Mom," I responded, refusing to answer her question. Her irritated huff made me laugh. But before she could respond, I passed through the doorway into the den, calling loudly to my sister, "Okay, squirt. I'm here. Let's open gifts."

Any chance for my mother to continue her questioning was lost when Bree's excited whoop of "Yay! Presents!" filled the air. I had just claimed my usual seat on the recliner and was sipping on my coffee when my mother walked into the room.

"We _will_ talk about this, Edward Anthony!" she announced quietly as she claimed her spot on the couch.

I snorted and smiled even wider. She'd pulled out the double name, revealing just how irritated she was that I'd weaseled my way out of her questioning. I appeased her with a "sure, Mom," although I had no plans whatsoever to return to that fucking line of questioning. I was hoping that she'd forget it in the excitement of the morning.

Luckily, all _was_ forgotten as my father passed out Christmas gifts, and we got lost in the magic of the holiday spirit.

All in all, Santa was very generous. Bree was especially excited by her new 'big girl' bike—an adult ten-speed. Unfortunately, she wouldn't be able to try it out for a while due to the snow. We now had more than four inches of the white stuff, and it was still coming down pretty heavily. Forks wasn't known for snow—in fact, this was the first white Christmas in over twenty years—so as soon as the presents were done, Bree and I bundled up to go outside and take advantage of the winter weather. Just like the night before, the cold air slammed into me as soon as I passed through the door. This time, despite the fact that I was dressed for the cold, I didn't feel nearly as warm.

That changed pretty quickly once we started running around. We made a few snow angels and built a snowman, then started packing snowballs. I tossed a few, rather gently, at Bree, although from her shrieks you would've thought that I'd launched a high-powered missile at her. Even Riley, our ancient German Shepherd, joined in the fun, chasing the snowballs I threw for him, then looking baffled when they disappeared into the drifts of snow.

As I was hiding behind a tree, preparing for my next surprise attack on my sister, I reflected on the morning. I'd made out well in the gift department—clothes, the new _Call of Duty_ for my PlayStation, a few movies, and a set of cuff-links that bore our family crest—and I was now having a blast playing in the snow for the first time in years. However, I couldn't help but feel that something was missing. Unconsciously, my eyes drifted to the Swan's house. As soon as I spotted Bella, who was standing on their back porch, I realized exactly what that something was.

It shocked me to realize that I had feelings—_romantic feelings_—for Bella. My heart began to pound, and suddenly, I felt really, really hot. I wanted to talk to her, to see her smile again like she did last night. No, wait… Correction: I wanted to be the one to bring that smile to her face.

I also wanted to kiss her again.

_Really. _

_Fucking. _

_Badly. _

My snowy missiles forgotten, I pushed away from the tree and waved my hand in a tentative greeting as I took a step toward her. She waved hesitantly in return, so I began walking in her direction. However, once I was close enough to see her face clearly, her uncertain expression revealed that she didn't quite know how to act. That look of indecision halted my steps, and I frowned slightly.

_SPLAT!_

Focused solely on Bella, I was completely surprised by my sister's attack. The crusty snowball hit me in the side of my face, and because it was cold outside, that sucker stung like a mother-fucking bitch. I turned to scowl at Bree, just as she hurled another snowball as hard as she could, hitting me square in the chest. I staggered back a bit from the unexpected force of the blow.

"Ah, ha! Got you, Edward!" Bree cried triumphantly.

Although I refused to show it, I was actually kind of pissed that I'd been caught unaware by my little sister. In front of Bella no less. I'd just leaned down to pack my retaliatory snowball when Bella's musical laugh filled the air. Glancing up, my jaw dropped a bit at the sight of her doubled over in laughter. She was clutching at her stomach, and the wide smile on her face once again transformed her from average to stunning.

All I could do was stare.

And get smacked down by another fucking snowball.

Falling to the ground, I rubbed the back of my head this time. Another peal of laughter from the Swans' backyard joined my sister's triumphant shouts. Talk about getting kicked while you're down… My pride was definitely bruised by the fact that Bella just had a front row seat to me getting my ass kicked in a snowball fight with my little sister. Of course, it really was all Bella's fault. She _had_ distracted me.

Suddenly, an idea came to me. Shoving a few quickly constructed snowballs into my pockets, I stood up and made a big "T" with my hands.

"Time out!" I shouted to my sister. Then I turned my scowl to Bella and beckoned to her. She picked her way down the steps from the porch, only looking up once her feet were on solid ground.

"You think this is funny?" I asked.

The closer she got, the easier it was to see how beautiful she looked. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold, and her eyes twinkled mischievously, all signs of hesitancy now gone.

"Oh, yeah… I think _everyone_ would agree that this is pretty funny. Edward Cullen, and his 'stellar athletic skills', getting taken out by his little sister. That's definitely a first." She walked over to give Bree a high-five. "Good job, kiddo!"

Bree giggled as she slapped hands with Bella. My eyes narrowed.

"Oh… so is that how it's gonna be?" I asked.

The girls snickered.

"'Fraid, so, Cullen," Bella retorted sassily.

I'd never heard her use my last name like that before, and I really liked the way it sounded coming out of her mouth. For some reason, it made me want to go all caveman on her ass—pick her up, toss her over my shoulder, and carry her off somewhere more private where I could ravage her.

I was torn from my plotting when she spoke again.

"I'm just glad I decided to come outside at that particular moment to take a few pictures of the snow." She held up a small camera. "I managed to capture your spectacular defeat on film."

She tilted the device and hit a few buttons, then angled the screen to show Bree, who squealed in delight. "Oh, Bella, that's awesome! You _have_ to send me a copy of these. No one will ever believe this."

"No problem, kiddo," Bella replied as she pocketed her camera and fluffed Bree's hair. Then she turned to me with a gleeful smirk. "I'll link them on FaceBook."

"Yes!" Bree exclaimed, pulling her fist into her waist in a gesture of victory.

I groaned. "You'd better not tag me in those pictures, Swan."

"Why not?" She tossed her head back and laughed. "What can _you_ do about it? They're my photos and Bree's webpage…"

Her words trailed off and her eyes widened as she took in my suddenly predatory glance and my sly, subtle movements. She started backing up quickly as I advanced on her, her eyes darting between my face and my hand, which had dipped into my pocket as I stalked her.

"_Edward_..."

The breathlessness of her voice spurred me on. Smiling wickedly, I pulled a snowball from my pocket. Her eyes remained trained on my missile as I tossed it from hand to hand.

"_Bella_…" I mimicked her tone. "Now, what were we talking about?" I pretended to think as I resumed my stalking. "Oh yeah… tagging pictures on FaceBook. What's it gonna be, Swan? The photos or the snowball?"

Bella's eyes remained trained on the snowball, but she didn't say anything. Indecision raced across her face. The choice wasn't made any easier when Bree began begging for the photos.

"Last chance, Swan…"

Her eyes darted between me and my sister, finally locking on the latter. She straightened her spine a bit. "The snowball," she finally declared.

"What?" I asked, surprised by her answer.

Her voice was steely, her teeth clenched. "Go ahead, Cullen… Take your best shot. Throw the damn snowball."

I looked at her in disbelief. Squeezing her eyes shut, she raised her hands to make a better target. A smile twitched at the corner of my lips—she was sacrificing herself for my sister, which endeared her to me even more. But the way she had used my last name, again, reignited the caveman instinct. Suddenly, tossing a snowball at her wasn't punishment enough. Not to mention, throwing the snowball meant distance. My smile widened as a better idea formed. I was still staring at her, smiling wickedly, when she opened her eyes and speared me with an irritated stare.

"C'mon, Cullen. What's the hold up? You gonna throw that snowball or not?"

Her words were a challenge from which I could not back away.

"I'm thinking… _not_."

"Huh?"

Rushing forward, I reached up and jammed the snowball into the collar of her coat.

"_Argh_!" she screamed as she lost her balance and toppled backwards.

I grabbed at her arms in an attempt to keep her from falling, but all I managed to do was lose my own balance. When all was said and done, Bella was on her back in the snow, and I was lying on top of her. Her arms were wrapped around my shoulders, and my hands were cupping the back of her head. For a moment, we just stared at one another warily, shocked by this turn of events. Then she sucked her bottom lip into her mouth. When her tongue slipped out to run across it, a groan rumbled through my chest. I know she felt it, because her hands tightened against the collar of my jacket and her eyes widened even further. Or maybe she felt something else, because suddenly I was rock-hard again. The way I was laying on top of her left nothing to the imagination; I could feel each and every one of her soft curves, so I knew that she must be just as aware of my… hardness. Unable to resist, I tilted my hips slightly, pressing against her inner thigh. She sucked in a shaky breath, then moaned just a little. That fucking little breathless sound was my undoing. Staring intently at her mouth—and the tip of her tongue, which had poked back out—I groaned in longing. Tired of fighting my desires, I dipped my head in order to take the kiss I'd been longing for all day.

Her nervous chuckle stopped me.

"Um… Cullen? Is that a snowball in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"

I reared back immediately to look at her, startled by her words. The expression on her face was a toss-up between desire and regret. The slight tilt of her chin caused me to look up to where my sister was looking down at us with a frown.

Holy Shit! I'd completely forgotten that Bree was even there.

As soon as I'd landed on top of Bella in the snow, it was as if nothing else in the world existed outside of the two of us. With another groan, I pushed myself up and flopped into the snow at her side. She laughed softly, the sound a mix of resignation and disappointment and… _mischief_? She leaned over to whisper in my ear.

"I think you might need to cool off a little bit, Cullen."

Before my brain could catch up and compute the double meaning, a handful of snow was shoved against my neck and began trickling down into the collar of my jacket.

"_Argh_!" I roared, madly pawing at the melting snow. "Oh… you're gonna fucking pay for that, Swan!"

Bella laughed loudly at the success her trick and scrambled to her feet.

"_Edward_!" Bree screeched. "You said the _bad_ word!"

Ignoring my sister, I pushed myself to my feet. Bella took off running toward her house, but it was too late. My first missile hit her between the shoulder blades. Her own clumsy feet did the rest of the work—she landed in the snow in an unceremonious heap. I couldn't help but laugh. Especially when she scowled at me from the ground

"Sorry, squirt," I apologized to my sister. "I shouldn't have said that word." Ruffling her hair, I began walking to where Bella was sprawled. "But _Bella_ here shouldn't have dumped snow down my coat, either."

Her scowl deepened. "Hey! That was just retaliation. You did it first."

I laughed again. That was true, so I offered the olive branch.

"Truce?" I asked her, extending my hand to help her up.

She stared at me for a moment, eyes narrowed, as if she was sizing me up. After a minute she relented.

"Truce," she announced, sliding her hand into mine.

Looking down at our joined hands, it surprised me how… _right_… it felt to be holding her hand. Tingling, electric warmth spread from her fingers to mine, even though we were both wearing gloves. When I lowered my eyes to her face, it was obvious that she felt it, too; her eyes were wide, and the little puffs of steamy air indicated she was once again breathing quickly and shallowly. Giving a slight tug, I helped her to her feet. Once she was standing, I made no move to relinquish her hand, and she made no attempt to extricate it. We both squeezed gently at the same time, as we continued to gaze at one another with knowing—and frustrated—smiles. With one last longing look, we broke the contact and stepped apart.

"So… I think that's enough fun for one day," I announced brightly, turning to my sister and tossing my arm over her shoulder. "You ready to go in, squirt?"

"I guess so," she agreed reluctantly. Then she sighed dramatically, in the way that only kids can do. "I just _love_ the snow."

"I think it'll be here for a while, kiddo," Bella assured her. "They're predicting snow for the next few days."

"Really?"

Bella smiled at Bree's enthusiasm. "Really. In fact, you'll probably be sick of snow before the week is over."

"Never!"

She turned to me. "There's some worry that this might get nasty."

The snow had slowed for the time being—it was only flurrying lightly now—but the sky was dark and angry-looking, and the clouds were racing by, reinforcing the possibility of her prediction.

"Well… I guess it's a good thing we don't have to go far for dinner tonight."

We were dining at the Swan's tonight. Sharing the holiday meal was a ritual that started four Christmases ago, when the Chief had been called into work and didn't want to leave Bella alone on her first Christmas in Forks. She'd joined us for dinner that year, much to my chagrin. The following year, the Swans had hosted us. My parents had enjoyed the arrangement, so Christmas dinner with the Swans was now tradition, and this was their year to host.

She laughed lightly. "Yes, it probably is."

Once more, I was transfixed by the sight and sound of Bella laughing. And by the breathless way her 'yes' came out, which had me envisioning other, less-than-innocent reasons for her to say it like that. I gritted my teeth against the tide of sexual energy that rushed through my body, pooling in my groin. I suddenly found it hard to breathe. Not to mention the fact that I was now sporting a semi. _Again_. Uncomfortable by my reaction and unable to act on my desire, I looked away before I gave myself away. I'm pretty sure that she noticed that shit anyways, if the knowing and suddenly-confident smile that twitched at the corner of her lips was any indication.

"I guess we'll see you later," I stated, smiling distractedly at Bella as I turned away to walk to our house.

"_Yes_… I guess you will."

She drew the 'yes' out in that breathless way, again, as if testing the results. She laughed again when my feet halted and my jaw clenched in time to the clenching of my stomach. When I scowled at her, she made it fucking worse.

"Dinner will be ready around six. _Come_ over whenever you want."

Shaking my head, I groaned at her words. The way Bella emphasized the 'come', along with the suggestive little eye-waggle as she said it, informed me that she knew exactly how she was affecting me, _and_ that she was enjoying her new-found power trip. I shook my head again. After more than three years of having the upper hand in the balance of power, I didn't like not being in control.

Or not being able to act on my impulses.

I clenched my hands at my sides to keep from reaching out, yanking her into my arms and just taking what I wanted, because _that_ wasn't going to happen with my sister standing right next to us. The kind of kiss that Bella had coming now wouldn't be the sweet, innocent kiss of the night before. No… what I wanted to do to her now was primal, explicit, and quite possibly pornographic. My eyes narrowed as I stared at her.

_When I get you alone.._.

Her back straightened and her eyes went wide as she interpreted my silent message. Shooting me a tremulous smile, she laughed nervously, which helped to make me feel a bit more in control. Or at least a little less _not_ in control. Of course, that was before Bella turned and made her way to her own house, ass wiggling from side to side as if she _knew_ I was watching.

I was torn from my inappropriate ogling of Bella's ass when Bree called my name and tugged on the hand that still rested on her shoulder. Shaking my head, I resumed my trek home, bemused by the fact that I was lost in thoughts of Bella and that I couldn't wait until later, when I would have the opportunity to kiss her without fear of prying eyes

Unfortunately, once I got home and informed my mother that we were expected at the Swan's around six, I realized that my plans might not be as feasible as I originally imagined. This evening, Bree wouldn't be the only one to prevent me from acting on my impulses… No, both my parents and Bella's father would be there as well.

Fucking hell.

I had a feeling this was going to be one hell of a long—and frustrating—night.


	3. Silent Night

**A/N: **Wow! I have to admit that I'm completely surprised (and a bit overwhelmed) at how many of you are cheering for MistletoeWard. Thank you so much for your kind words! You guys are what make this fun. Glad that all of you are enjoying the frustration and tension that's beginning to build between these two. It's going to be an interesting few days for them…

Thanks again to **Kaydee1005** for betaing.

**Disclaimer:** _Twilight_ isn't mine, but I've had a blast with MistletoeWard. He has a lot of lessons to learn.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Part III: Silent Night**

**Christmas Night**

After more than three years of encouraging Bella to talk to me, I figured that my mother would've realized right away that something was different between us. I'd worried all day that she would immediately pick up on the change in both our attitudes, but it appeared that I'd worried over nothing. Granted, we didn't go out of our way to talk to each other any more than we had in the past. That said, the little interactions we did have felt so different to me that I was sure everyone would immediately sense that something had changed drastically.

I guess not.

But really, even if she didn't notice the changes in the non-interactions between Bella and me, my mother should have seen the changes in Bella herself. It was really fucking obvious to me that something was different. _Good_ different. She talked easier and more confidently—no more stuttering—and the look on her face was one of happiness and expectancy, not unfulfilled longing and disappointment. However, my mother was obviously not very observant; she hadn't noticed a God-damned thing. Instead, she just took over the situation the way she was accustomed to doing, giving Bella encouraging smiles and constantly working to keep the conversation moving, even though it seemed that it was moving fine all on its own, without her interference. The more she talked, the more I glowered at her, wishing that she would just shut the fuck up. Of course, _that_ was a nasty cycle, because the more I fucking glowered, the more she tried to get me to talk.

In my mother's defense, the glowering was nothing new—I'd been doing that for years. _Why_ I was glowering was a different story. In the past, I'd been pissed that my mother went out of her way to get me _to_ talk to Bella. Tonight, her excessive conversation was keeping me _from_ talking to Bella.

Not that she knew that. No, Bella and I had done a good job of trying to maintain the status quo. My excessive glowering probably helped. While I'd caught Bella surreptitiously smiling at my typically dour look on more than one occasion, she did a good job of keeping up the pretense as well. It was an unspoken agreement that things between us were just too new to have our families asking questions to which we didn't have the answers yet. On the few occasions where I thought I might actually have the opportunity to exchange a few words with Bella, my mother found some way to interfere, however unintentionally.

For example, we'd arrived a few minutes early, and I'd offered to put the wine in the refrigerator, figuring that Bella was in the kitchen. But of course, my mother refused to relinquish the bottle. She also offered to help Bella with the last minute food preparation, then took over the organization of food on the table and instructed everyone where to sit. At least she had placed me directly across the table from Bella. Our feet tanged a few times under the table, causing both of us to smile. Unfortunately, those little foot battles were the only direct interaction we had all night. As soon as dinner was over, my mother grabbed Bella's arm and guided her to the couch, telling her to "sit and rest." The men were instructed that "since Bella cooked, you should clean."

Her meddling, while annoying, did lead to one positive outcome. In the course of cleaning up after the meal, I had a moment alone with the Chief in the kitchen. His voice, when he addressed me, was somewhat hesitant.

"Edward?"

"Yes, sir?"

He paused for a moment, wiping the same place on the counter over and over again. With a huff, he finally said, "From what you said last night, I take it that you saw the argument with Bella and Jake?"

I stiffened, but gave a jerky nod.

"What happened?"

I turned to look at him, a concerned frown on my face. I felt that he needed to know the truth, but now that our relationship had changed so drastically, I didn't want to upset Bella either.

"What did she say?" I asked guardedly.

"Honestly? Not much. Just that she doesn't like him in the way that he likes her, and that it's starting to become a nuisance."

I had to suppress a quick smile at the word choice—it was the exact word she had used to describe herself last night. But looking at him, I knew that her father wasn't satisfied with that answer. To be honest, I wasn't all that satisfied with that answer, either, especially having been a witness to the altercation. My lips tilted downward into a frown, which deepened at his next words.

"She has a bruise on her wrist today, in the shape of a handprint."

The concern over upsetting Bella paled in the face of the rage that began to course through me uncontrollably at his announcement. My jaw clenched, and I saw red. That fucking… dog… had hurt Bella. I would not protect him after learning that, no matter what she wanted. Turning back to the sink, I plunged my hands into the soapy water and began washing dishes furiously as I talked.

"He was talking to her when I walked into the room, telling her that you and his father were hoping that they would get together. That you had invited him to the party to keep her company, although he implied that there was… _more_… on the line than just that."

I glanced at Charlie and saw his jaw clench.

"He grabbed her hand, and when she tried to pull it away, he wouldn't let go—that's probably where the bruise came from. Then he maneuvered her under the mistletoe in an attempt to kiss her."

My voice was almost a whisper when I dropped the last bombshell. "She said 'no', Chief, but he wouldn't listen."

More than just his jaw was clenched now—his balled fists came to rest on the counter, and his face was red as he struggled to contain his anger. In an attempt to calm him, I continued.

"Nothing happened. I bumped the table and knocked some dishes off, which distracted him long enough for her to get away, but if I hadn't?" I shrugged my shoulders. "Let's just say he wasn't happy about it."

"He'd better be really glad that nothing happened," Charlie growled.

I just nodded and continued washing the dishes, giving him the time and space he needed to process the information I'd just provided.

"Thank you, Edward."

Turning to him with eyes raised in question, I asked, "For what?"

"For telling me. And for helping her."

"No prob, Chief. Anyone would've done the same thing."

"I'm not sure," he replied thoughtfully. "And I doubt that 'just anyone' would have checked on her after the fact, or kept her company for the rest of the night."

"Well, I guess I'm not 'just anyone' then, but I didn't want to leave her alone after that."

He was staring at me intently, a thoughtful and amused look on his face. I felt incriminating heat creeping up my neck and quickly turned back to the sink, but not before I saw his moustache twitch slightly. I could hear the curiosity in his voice when he spoke again.

"You looked like you'd been talking a while…"

I just nodded.

The good thing about the Chief? Unlike my mother, he knew when to let things go. With a small grunt of acknowledgement, he let the conversation drop. But I had a feeling that he was much more observant than my mother. I also felt his curious gaze linger on me. It wasn't unpleasant, but it wasn't overly comfortable, either. Luckily, I didn't have to endure his silent scrutiny very long because my father pushed his way through the door carrying the last load of dirty dishes from the dining room, putting an end to our private exchange.

When the kitchen was clean, we all headed out to the den, where the girls were sitting on the couch. They were all huddled together, giggling loudly. As I got closer, I realized that Bella had her laptop out. My sister's words caused my teeth to clench.

"Oh, Bella, this is even better on the big screen!" She laughed excitedly. "He looks _sooo_ pissed!"

"Bree!" my mother scolded. "Language."

"Sorry, Mom. But see…" She angled the computer so that my mother had a better view. "Doesn't he look pissed?"

My mother laughed and ruffled Bree's hair. "That he does, honey." Then she turned to Bella with an encouraging smile. "These are good, Bella. They really capture the moment."

The typical embarrassed color touched Bella's cheeks, but before she could say anything in return, my father interrupted their hushed conversation.

"So, what're you girls looking at?"

"Me taking Edward out in a snowball fight!" Bree exclaimed excitedly.

My father laughed. "Really? This I've gotta see."

Bree laughed triumphantly, then turned the computer around so that her Facebook page was showing. Her entire wall was plastered with photos of me getting hit with snowballs and in various stages of falling down.

I groaned. Then shot a dirty look at Bella.

"You didn't?"

Her chin tilted defiantly. "I chose the snowball, remember?"

My scowl deepened and my jaw clenched. Yes, I did fucking remember. I also remembered how it had felt lying on top of her in the snow after I had bum-rushed her with said snowball, how _she_ had felt—all soft and breathless beneath me. That thought alone was enough to make my tight-fitting jeans feel a bit uncomfortable. Then I recalled how it had felt when she shoved snow down my neck, which cooled me off a bit, much like it had earlier.

For some reason, I'd thought that her snowy retaliation had been enough, that it made us even. But I guess not. No, she was pushing me now, even further than she had this afternoon. One look at the smug look on her face confirmed that this was definitely the case. I continued to stare at her pointedly, and her suddenly-choppy breath informed me that she'd just realized she'd just pushed me too far. Her eyes slid away from mine and back to the computer, but a smile still twitched at the corners of her lips. Of course, she also knew that I couldn't take that retaliation out until we were alone.

Frustration and… _anticipation_… began to build. My fists clenched as I slumped into one of the Chief's comfortable recliners that sat opposite the couch; right now I didn't trust myself to sit anywhere close to Bella. And speaking of Bella… Eyeing her surreptitiously from beneath lowered eyelids, I took in everything about her—the way she so casually and comfortably interacted with my family, the smile on her face as they looked at the photos, and the way her tongue peeked out to run across her bottom lip as she worked the keys of the computer. I groaned softly, sinking further into the chair and directing a frustrated scowl in her direction.

My mother's head snapped up at the sound, and when I met her gaze, she was looking at me with disapproval. Obviously (and thankfully) misinterpreting my frown, her gaze flickered between me and Bella in the way that she'd been doing for the past three-plus years, indicating that I should be nice, not an asshole. I rolled my eyes and almost smiled. I say almost, because I _was _frustrated, and _she_ was the main reason that Bella and I hadn'treally talked tonight. Not that I would ever clue her in on that.

Realizing that watching Bella was doing me no good (for many reasons), I turned to my father and the Chief who were standing by the fire and talking sports. I jumped into that conversation, and we spent the next hour discussing Seattle professional sports—the Mariners had an abysmal 2010 season, while the Seahawks were somehow still alive in the playoff hunt, despite having a losing record.

Once I stopped focusing on Bella, the rest of the evening flew by. In addition to sports, Dad, the Chief and I talked jobs and college, while the girls huddled on the couch drinking tea, eating cookies and looking at Bella's photos. Before I knew it, my father was shaking Charlie's hand, thanking him for his hospitality and saying that it was time for us to get going. My heart began to pound at the thought of finally getting the opportunity to be alone with Bella.

That anticipation quickly turned to frustration when I realized that there would be no alone time. Not when my mother was fucking hovering, watching my (and Bella's) every move. Just like earlier in the day, there was no way for me to say—or do—what I wanted in front of my family. Things with Bella were still too new, too unsettled, and I wasn't ready to out us, not when I didn't even know if there was an _us_. In some perverse way, it was actually funny—my mother honestly didn't understand how counterproductive her efforts were.

Biggest fucking cock-block ever.

As Charlie ushered us to the door, Bella was fidgety—_anxious. _She bit on her lower lip, and her eyes met mine only briefly. But what I saw in that fleeting glance assured me that she was just as dissatisfied with the ending to this night as I was. The look of longing was back, but this time, it was different. Not only that, _I _was different. Rather than rushing out the door as quickly as possible, the way that I used to, I wanted to linger and talk to her. I also wanted to exact the revenge that had been building all day. Unfortunately, all I could manage was a brief, and covert, brush of her hand as I exited. I groaned in absolute frustration when the Swans' door closed behind me, which earned me another scowl from my mother.

"You know, Edward, Bella's a sweet girl. You should try being nice for once."

"Trust me, Mom… I'm trying really hard to be nice right now," I growled as I stalked across the yard.

"Well, you're not succeeding. I know she has a crush on you, and that's got to be hard to deal with, but Edward, I'm getting really tired of your nasty attitude concerning Bella."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, maybe if you'd just butt out…"

"I'm not asking you to ask her out or fall in love, honey. Just to be nice. Talk to her. She's had it rough, and I'm sure she could use a friend."

My hands clenched at my side. If she only fucking knew… I _had_ already been nice. I'd talked to Bella, and more. My stomach joined my fists, balling up in a knot of pleasurable pain as I recalled our kiss from the evening before. My dick decided he wanted in on the action, too, reminding me painfully that the kiss last night had not been nearly enough; I still wanted more. _Much more_. In fact, my fingers itched to touch her hip or slide through her hair, and my lips ached to taste her again.

Not that I would admit that to my mother. Another growling groan rumbled through my chest, and once again, she misinterpreted the frustrated sound.

"Edward? Please. I'm serious. Just talk to her."

Before I could answer, my sister jumped in. "But he talked to her this afternoon."

"He did?"

Bree giggled. "Yeah. Then he hit her with a snowball."

"Edward!" my mother scolded.

"What?" My scowl deepened and my pace increased, as much as it could through several inches of snow. "I asked her not to put the photos on FaceBook, but she wouldn't listen. So, I gave her a choice: the pics or the snowball. She chose the snowball."

I shrugged.

"_Edward Anthony_…"

The frown morphed into a smile at the memory of catching Bella unaware with the snowball. Of course, the memory of landing on top of her immediately followed, and I once again found my pants uncomfortably tight. Luckily, we'd reached home by this point, so with a quick—and dismissive—goodnight, I headed up the stairs to my room. For the third time that day, I imagined Bella's soft lips and warm breath as I found release beneath the spray of the shower.

Exhausted from the never-ending tension of the day, I finally fell into bed. I was right. It had been one hell of a long night. And while the ending had been satisfactory to an extent, it wasn't the ending I'd been envisioning—my own hand was a poor substitute for what I now craved.

_Bella_.


	4. Baby, It's Cold Outside!

**A/N: **I never thought I'd hear myself ask this, but is anyone else starting to get tired of all the snow? I love snow, but usually b/c it means I get to stay home from work. Not this year. Boo! It's been an epic year in the snow-fall totals where I live, so I figured that MistletoeWard should have to deal with some of the fall-out as well. More snowy good times (and self-induced troubles) to follow. Hope you enjoy!

Thanks once again to **Kaydee1005** for the beta.

**Disclaimer: **SM owns _Twilight_. However, I have allowed MistletoeWard to say and do a few things in this chapter than she never would have put in her books.

: )

Pic tease: (http) / bit (dot) ly / ghWB6h

* * *

**Part IV: Baby It's Cold Outside**

**December 26**

The day after Christmas followed much the same pattern as the day before, only without the presents. I'd planned to sleep in, but Bree had other ideas. I was once again rudely awoken when my bed started bouncing. At least this time I wasn't hard.

A glance at the clock revealed it was just after nine.

"Dammit, squirt. What are you doing to me?" I groaned at her. "I need my beauty sleep."

She giggled as she flopped down on the bed beside me. "You're a boy, Edward. Boys don't need beauty sleep. That's only for girls."

"I beg to differ," I argued. "And I'm not just a boy—I'm a very good-looking boy." I waggled my eyebrows, causing her to laugh some more. "It requires a lot of sleep to maintain looks as good as mine. In fact, I think I need at least one more hour today."

"But it's snowing again, and I wanna go outside. Mom won't let me until you get up. So… Get up. Now!"

Ah… the exuberance of youth! Sometimes I wished that I still had it, but today? Today I just wanted to sleep. I was still trying to make up for the less-than-restful previous night, and I really wouldn't mind slipping back into the dreams of Bella, which Bree had once again interrupted.

"C'mon, squirt? Just an hour more?" I pleaded.

She scowled. "Nope. No more sleep. Time to get up."

The bed began shimmying again. No, there would definitely be no more sleep this morning. Surrendering to the inevitable, I sighed.

"Fine, fine. I'll be down in a few, okay?"

The bed stopped moving.

"Promise?"

Despite my exasperation with her, the enthusiasm in Bree's voice was infections. A smile twitched at the corner of my lips, and I turned to wink at her.

"Yeah, kid, I promise."

"Yay!" she squealed as she popped off the bed and headed for the door.

Rolling to my back, I shoved my hands into my hair and shook my head in exasperation. But the smile remained, and there was a part of me that was beginning to share in Bree's excitement. It wasn't often that I got to play in the snow, and I did enjoy making my sister happy. Not to mention, it was another opportunity to see Bella.

_The things a man will do for love…_The smile faded as I shot upright in the bed, fully-fucking-alert. My chest tightened, and suddenly, I found it hard to breathe.

Where the hell had that thought come from? ?

Love

Yes, I loved my sister. I could probably even say that I loved the snow—I did have a blast yesterday. But to include Bella in that list? I shook my head in denial. Hell… it was way too fucking soon to start thinking _anything_ along those lines. We'd shared what? Two kisses?

I flopped back onto the bed with a frustrated huff, allowing my thoughts to wander. I had to admit that I was more than surprised to find myself suddenly attracted to Bella after years of doing my best to avoid her and her annoying crush. Hell… it might be the shock of the fucking century. But love?

No, not yet.

I didn't really _know_ Bella. But now, for the first time in almost four years, the idea of getting to know her, of spending time with her, didn't seem quite so appalling. My body relaxed from the tension that had been holding it captive since the 'L' word had entered my mind. I actually smiled at the thought of getting to know Bella and possibly seeing her again outside.

Suddenly I found myself more than eager to go play in the snow.

~/~

An hour later, Bree and I tumbled out the back door into the gently falling snow. My father had dug out our old toboggan from the basement this morning before he left for work, so we spent a while sliding down the hill in our backyard. Once we tired of that, we made snow angels, then built a snow family for the snowman we had constructed yesterday. By the time we were done, the snowman and snowwoman had two snow children and a snow dog as well. All and all, Bree and I spent several hours playing outside. I'd hoped that Bella would come outside at some point, like she had yesterday, but we never saw her.

What we had seen, however, was a change in the weather.

After being outside for about an hour, the snow started falling faster. The eerie silence that descends when a heavy snow is falling settled around us while we were building the snow family. The only thing we heard was the sounds of our own breaths and our quietly spoken words; the quickly falling snow drowned out all other sounds of nature, isolating us in a chamber of silence that was simultaneously unnerving yet still somehow soothing.

Caught up in the hush of falling snow and companionable silence, Bree and I both jumped at the sound of a loud crack followed shortly thereafter by a booming explosion.

"What was that?" she asked with wide eyes that darted around looking for the source of the blast.

Frowning, I looked around. Eventually, my eyes alighted upon a large tree up the street that had fallen over to the weight of ice and snow that coated its limbs. Unfortunately, it had fallen on the power lines, which were now lying on the ground. The trail of the loose lines led to a smoking transformer. I pointed to them.

"Looks like the power lines up the street just got taken out. Be careful, squirt. Don't go anywhere near those lines, okay? They're really dangerous."

"What would happen?"

"Trust me, you don't want to find out."

"Okay."

We only stayed out for about half an hour longer. Even though the downed lines were more than half a mile away, I didn't like being out there with the potential danger. Not with an inquisitive nine-year-old who had a tendency to get into trouble. As soon as the snow family was assembled, I ushered her back inside.

I guess that I should've expected it, but I didn't. When we finally got inside after shedding all our snow gear in the mud-room, I was surprised to find the house doused in darkness; not a single light or appliance was turned on. Flipping the switch on the wall did nothing.

The power was out.

"Mom?" I shouted.

Her voice drifted up from the basement, so Bree and I headed in that direction. Once we descended the steps, we found her curled up with a magazine in a chair next to the Franklin stove that my father had stoked yesterday morning. Candles lit the room, surrounding her in a warm glow.

"Hey guys! Have fun in the snow?"

I nodded and Bree whooped enthusiastically before flopping down in front of the fireplace to warm her frozen fingers and toes.

"I heard a big boom, right before the power went out. What happened?" she asked.

"Power line's down up the street," I informed her. "Looks like that ancient oak in the Stanley's front yard lost a battle with the ice and snow."

A look of chagrin crossed her face. "Oh! What a shame. That was a beautiful, old tree. Supposedly, it dates back to the 1800's."

I rolled my eyes. I loved my mother's sentimentality, but at the moment, I was more concerned with the lack of power than a centuries-old tree. That, and potentially food; it was now close to one o'clock, and I was starved— playing in the snow was hungry work.

"I'm more worried about how long it might take the power company to come fix the lines. It's getting nasty outside; the snow's really falling now. The temperature is dropping, so there will be a lot of cold people around here if we don't have power." Not everyone had a fireplace like we did, and of the ones that did, not all had a good supply of firewood. "Besides, I'm hungry."

"Me, too," Bree chirped.

"Well, guys, I can't really cook anything warm for you, but we can do sandwiches, if that's okay."

At this point, I'd take whatever I could get.

Half an hour later, we were all gathered around the fire with sandwiches, fruit, chips and soda, which was great for lunch. But the snow was falling even heavier now than when we'd come in a little while ago, and I doubted that the power would be restored anytime soon.

"What about tonight?" I asked around a mouthful of ham and cheese.

"Hmm?" my mother hummed in question.

"Dinner?"

"Well, Edward, we'll just have to make do. The stove here has a granite cook-top, so we can warm a few things, if necessary. Rough it, like the pioneers, cook over the open flames."

"Ooh! Really?" Bree asked. When my mother nodded, she exclaimed, "Fun!"

"We can start now with the old popcorn popper," Mom suggested. "You want to see if you can find it?"

Bree ran to the storage cabinet and pulled out the ancient-looking hinged pan on a stick. We'd had the thing for years, but had never actually used it. At least, not as it was intended.

"This?" Bree asked.

Mom nodded.

"Oh. Is that what that is?" I asked. "A popcorn popper?"

She shook her head and laughed at me. Then she produced a bag of popcorn, which Bree took in order to fill the pan. It took about ten minutes to pop, and more of it was burned than not, but it kept Bree entertained for a while.

I'd never gone very long without the TV or a computer before. An afternoon with none of the modern conveniences was… trying. After the mostly-failed popcorn experiment, we pulled out a few games, eventually settling on Monopoly. We spent a few hours battling for supremacy on the streets of America, and I'd just erected a hotel on Park Place—signifying the beginning of the end for both of them—when my mother's cell phone chimed. I listened in to her one-sided conversation.

"Hello?"

"Oh, hi, honey. How's work?"

"Hmmm…"

"Us? We're fine. Well, the power's out, so we're all down in the basement."

"Yeah, Edward said the old tree in the Stanley's yard fell on the lines."

"I know, but really, what can we do? We've got the fire, so we'll be okay."

"Playing Monopoly."

"_Yes_, Edward is kicking our butts, as usual."

She rolled her eyes and smiled at me. I snickered. After the pleasantries, there was a pause in her side of the conversation while she listened to him.

"Hmm, really? We haven't looked in a while. Edward?" she addressed me, placing her hand over the mouthpiece of the phone. "Go peek outside, see how it looks."

I wandered to the window in order to look outside, and when I got there, it was impossible to mask my startled intake of breath. When Bree and I had come inside a few hours back, we had about six inches of snow. There was now almost twice that amount. The entire back yard was blanketed, and the deep ruts we'd cut in the snow with the toboggan earlier in the afternoon were almost indiscernible.

"Whoa… Um, yeah. There's a shitload of snow out there. And it's still coming down."

"Edward! Language!" my mother scolded.

I turned around with a sheepish smile. "Sorry."

But a glance at Bree revealed that I needn't have worried—she was fast asleep beside the fireplace. My mother resumed her conversation with my father.

"Yeah, Edward says that there's a lot of snow out there, and don't forget the downed power lines..."

"Well… yeah, better to stay put, I guess. We'll be fine."

"What?"

"Charlie called you?" Her eyes rose to mine when she mentioned Bella's father. "No answer at the house? Wants us to check on Bella? Sure, I'll have one of the kids run over there in a few minutes."

"Sure thing, hon. Call me later, okay? Love you, too."

"Bye."

She turned to me. "Dad says it's really nasty outside downtown. The city's pretty much shut down—they've closed all the major roadways. He's gonna stay put at the hospital tonight."

I nodded.

"As you probably heard, Charlie called your father. He's not going to be able to get home either, and he hasn't been able to get in touch with Bella for a few hours—she hasn't answered the phone. He'd like for one of us to go check on her, make sure she's alright."

My eyes drifted to Bree, who was now snoring softly in front of the fire. That meant that I would be the ambassador to the Swans. My heart began to pound, pumping adrenaline through my body at a rapid pace, igniting a fire in all of my extremities, and my inner Edward was doing a giant fucking happy dance. I'd been dying for a moment alone with Bella for more than a day, and it appeared as if that opportunity had just been gift-wrapped and tossed in my lap. I clenched my jaw in an attempt to keep from smiling. My mother, misinterpreting the expression, sighed.

"C'mon, Edward. It's just a quick check. You can be nice to Bella for a few minutes, right?"

Fuck, yeah! I could be nice. Well, I take that back… Bella and I had danced around each other all day yesterday, so the thoughts racing through my mind right now were anything _but_ nice. However, I didn't think that she'd object to what I had in mind. My eyes narrowed in contemplation. In fact, considering the way she'd taunted me yesterday, she really had it coming.

My mother sighed again upon seeing my narrowed eyes.

"_Edward_…"

In some ways, her obvious misinterpretation of my attitude made it easier. I didn't know how I could explain my sudden desire to rush over and check on Bella, which is what I was now rearing to do. Continuing to affect a pseudo-irritated look, I huffed.

"Yes, Mom. I can be nice."

She smiled.

"For a few minutes," I muttered under my breath—but with a wide smile—as I trudged up the stairs to re-don my snow-gear.

"I heard that, Edward!" she yelled after me.

My smile widened, not that she would ever see it.

~/~

Twenty minutes later, I stood on the Swans' doorstep amazed by how much the temperature had dropped in just a few hours. The snow was still falling heavily, and the muffled silence that accompanied it was now bordering on ominous. A heavy expectancy hung in the air, making me feel unsettled. Well, _more_ unsettled than I was already feeling knowing that I was finally getting ready to see Bella. Alone.

My stomach felt as if it was going to drop out of my fucking body when I raised my hand to knock on the door.

Five minutes later, my nervous stomach was still flopping on the ground at my feet, but now, it was anxious for entirely different reasons. I was still standing in the same place in front of the Swans' door, my multiple polite summons unanswered. Beginning to get worried, I pounded more loudly and more insistently. I also started yelling her name as I banged away on the door.

After a particularly loud knock on my part, a thump, followed by a muffled yelp, sounded from inside the house. When the door finally opened, I had no clue what to expect, but it sure as hell wasn't a sleep-rumpled Bella. I'd obviously woken her up. She looked completely disheveled and unexpectedly appealing; her hair was a tangled mess atop her head, and her eyes were only partially open. The large blanket wrapped around her body served as a shroud, concealing her from me and making me wonder what—if anything—she'd been wearing while she slept. The sleepy-eyed image she presented was one of pure innocence, yet overt sexiness at the same time. My traitor heart jumped out of my chest to join my stomach at my fucking feet, and my mouth was suddenly very, very dry.

"Edward?" she yawned.

I was completely fucking lost for words.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

When I still couldn't manage to find any words, she finally rubbed her eyes and looked around.

"Holy crow! Where'd all the snow come from?"

Finally removing my tongue from the roof of my mouth, I managed to speak. Unfortunately, my answer wasn't overly intelligent.

"The sky?"

She rolled her eyes, and claimed, "duh," but she smiled. Then she stepped forward onto the porch. The blanket slipped from her shoulders as she moved.

"Wow!" she exclaimed.

Wow was right.

Once again, I wasn't talking about the fucking snow.

Underneath the blanket, Bella had on an ancient, threadbare _Forks PD_ t-shirt that molded her shoulders and chest like a second skin, making it obvious she wasn't wearing a bra. My eyes were drawn to her breasts, which were tipped by stiffly peaked nipples. Even though I felt my mouth drop open, I couldn't do anything to stop it—or the awareness that suddenly exploded in my groin.

Realizing that I was staring, she yanked the blanket back up, hugging it tightly around her shoulders. Her cheeks flooded with hot color, and she shot me an embarrassed look.

"Damn, it's cold out here," she murmured.

I should have suggested that she step back inside the house, but now that I had seen the promised land, I wasn't capable of conversation. All I could think about was cupping the perfection of her breasts in my hands, which began to fucking tingle in anticipation. I could almost feel them… their weight, their softness. My semi-aware cock responded to the mental image, springing to instant attention, and I groaned in longing as I took a step toward her.

My heavy-lidded and lust-filled eyes lifted to meet her gaze. What I saw there caused my breath to catch in my throat. Her cheeks were once again tinged with heated color, her eyes were huge—oh yeah, she knew exactly what I'd been thinking—and a look of acceptance and… _surrender_?... flashed from their chocolate depths. As she watched me, she sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and her teeth began to worry it, turning it white.

"Bella…" I whispered.

Taking another step forward, I pulled my glove off in order to rub my thumb across her lip, where her teeth had just released it. Bella sucked in a shaky breath, before allowing her eyes to drift shut and slipping her tongue out to slide across my thumb. She sighed in response to her own action. Electric awareness spiraled from my finger, up my arm, and throughout my body, finally exploding into a blaze of absolute need in my abdomen.

Not wanting to waste another fucking second, I slid my hand from her mouth to her hair, urging her forward. As she stumbled into me, my free hand once again settled on her hip, and my lips found hers, ready and waiting, soft and hot and damp from where her tongue had moistened them when she'd licked my thumb. Pushing my tongue into the heaven of her mouth, the taste and scent of strawberries and honey once again surrounded me, inundating all of my senses. Although I was drowning in the sensations—drowning in her—I couldn't get enough; I needed more. More of her.

In a flurry of response, Bella slid her arms around my neck, causing the blanket to fall at her feet. Tugging me closer and opening her mouth, she tentatively stroked my tongue with her own. At that first hesitant contact, the need intensified, curling low in my stomach and radiating outward to reach all of my extremities. My fingers fisted in her hair, tugging impatiently and tipping her head back. I sucked her lower lip into my mouth, and when I ran my tongue against the underside of that silky skin, she gasped.

Then she shivered.

Without breaking the kiss, I stepped forward, urging Bella inside the house and kicking the blanket along with us. Once the door was closed behind me, I leaned back against it, pulling her with me. While my tongue explored the hot recess of her mouth, my hands began to wander the soft contours of her body, sliding from her hip to her waist, drifting up, up, up to brush against the underside of her breasts. When my thumb flicked over one of her nipples, she jerked upright, then slumped into me and a low groan filled the air. I had no fucking idea from which one of us it came.

Pulling her lips from mine with a small moan, she ducked her head into my shoulder and whimpered as my thumb passed over the hardened tip of her nipple. Sliding my hand upward, I cupped her breast with my palm, squeezing gently. _Fuck_. It felt even better than I'd imagined earlier. And now, her hot, moist breath tickled my neck and seeped beneath the collar of my jacket, warming my chilled skin when she moaned low and long aganst my skin. Her hands fell to my waist, and her fingers dug into my hips—almost painfully—in an attempt to hold herself upright in response to my sensual assault.

I didn't want this to end. I wanted to keep kissing and touching and… _feeling…_ forever. Unfortunately, my time here was limited. After pressing my lips against the top of Bella's head one last time, I let my head fall back against the door. Dropping my hands from her chest to her waist, I held her tightly against me.

We stayed like that for a few minutes, wrapped in each other, panting wildly. Eventually, our breath slowed and our bodies calmed down.

"Um, Edward?"

I reluctantly opened my eyes and looked down her.

"While this was… _nice_," she paused and looked at me with a tremulous smile, and I had to chuckle at the irony of her words. My mother would be glad to know that Bella thought I was being 'nice' to her. I squeezed her gently before releasing her. She reached down to pick her blanket back up, then continued, "You still haven't told me what you're doing here."

It took me a minute to find my voice, but the answer to her question helped to cool my still-simmering ardor.

"Your dad called my parents. He's been calling you for hours, but hasn't been able to reach you. He wanted us to check on you, make sure you were all right."

"Huh? I never heard the phone ring."

She wandered towards the phone, which sat on the table next to the couch. Her eyes pinched when she lifted the receiver to her ear.

"It's not working."

I smirked. "The power's out, Bella."

"Huh? Really?" She looked around and frowned, finally realizing that no lights were on. "How long's it been out?"

"Most of the afternoon. Did you sleep through it all?" I asked incredulously.

"I guess so," she murmured

"You must sleep like the dead," I teased. "Of course, you didn't hear me knocking, either."

She blushed. "How long had you been knocking?"

The smirk morphed into a genuine, tender smile. "A while."

Her eyes glazed over slightly, and for a moment we just stared at one another. Then she shook her head slightly and turned away to stack the pillows—obviously from her bedroom—into a pile on the couch, adding an old book to the top. She loosely re-wrapped the blanket around herself, but it didn't prevent the shiver I saw race through her body. The fire in their fireplace had burned low, and now, only smoldering embers remained. Even in all my snow-gear, I could tell that it was rather chilly in the room.

As much as I hated to do it, I knew I needed to make a suggestion.

"Bella… Go put some clothes on."

"Huh?"

"While I appreciate the view," I indicated her very visible—and very hard—nipples (she blushed in response, and then tugged the blanket more tightly around herself), "it's cold in here. Go put on something warmer."

"Oh."

"Where's your cell?"

"Upstairs. Why?"

"You need to call your father."

"Oh, yeah…"

But she made no move to go. Instead, she stepped closer to me, and it was all I could fucking do to not pull her back into my arms and resume our frantic make-out session.

"Go," I quietly urged her.

She went. However, she was back in less than five minutes. And she was frowning.

"My phone's still dead. Power must have gone out right after I plugged it in. I need to call Charlie…"

I tugged my phone from my pocket and handed it to her. "Here, use mine."

"Thanks."

She dialed quickly, and for the second time in an hour, I listened to a one-sided conversation.

"Hey, Dad."

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, it's Bella. You got another daughter I don't know about?"

A slight blush tinged her cheeks. "Edward's phone."

"I'm okay. I fell asleep reading, and the power went out, so the land line isn't working right now."

"It was upstairs, but it's dead too."

She rolled her eyes. "Can't charge it without power, Dad."

"Yeah, no power, but I'll be fine; I've got the fire." She eyed it warily. "Well… Kind of. It's dying down now, but I'm sure Edward can get it going again."

Her eyes darted to me. "No, Dad. I don't think that's a good idea."

She frowned. "I said 'no'."

"_Charlie_..." she practically growled.

The frown turned into a fierce scowl. "Fine."

She turned to me and thrust the phone in my direction. "Here. He wants to talk to you."

"Hey, Chief," I spoke into the phone.

"Edward," his gravelly voice greeted me. "It's getting nasty outside."

"Yes, sir, it is."

Charlie sighed. "The roads are bad. Really bad. There've been quite a few accidents today caused by people who shouldn't be out anyways, which only makes it worse. Is your dad snowed in at the hospital?"

"Yeah. He called a few minutes ago. Said the roads downtown are all closed, and he can't get out. So, he's staying at the hospital tonight. Probably for the best anyways—that old tree in the Stanley's front yard took out the power lines up the street, so he wouldn't be able to get his car home even if the roads were open."

Bella's brows rose at my words and I nodded at her unspoken question. She padded to the window to look outside. Suddenly, I was more interested in watching Bella watch the snow than talking to her father. He asked another question, but I didn't catch it.

"Huh?"

I think I heard him chuckle. "The fire? Is it still going?"

Tearing my eyes away from Bella, I glanced at the fireplace. Frowning, I answered, "Not really."

"How's the supply of firewood?"

I spotted a small stack of wood. It would probably only last a few hours.

"Not good."

He sighed again and muttered something that sound like, "Knew I should've cut some more this morning." Then he spoke more audibly to me. "How's your family faring?"

"Us? We're fine. We've got the old stove downstairs, so we're camping out down there for the time being."

Just like the lack of power earlier, I should've seen it coming, but I didn't. Therefore, the Chief really caught me off-guard with his next words.

"Looks like I'm going to be stuck down here for a few days, too. It's a mess. Normally, it wouldn't be a problem for Bella to stay home alone, but without any power…" his voice trailed off for a moment, as if he was expecting me to say something. After a shot, yet awkward, silence, he continued, "Well... do you think your mother would mind if Bella stayed with you? At least until I can get home or the power comes back on?"

Did I think that my mother would mind? Hell, no. In fact, now that I thought about it, I was actually a bit surprised that she hadn't suggested it earlier.

"No," I answered honestly. "I think that would be fine, but let me check with her, just to be sure?"

"No problem, Edward. Just call me back and let me know."

"Sure thing, Chief."

After disconnecting from the Chief, I quickly dialed my mother's cell.

"Edward! Where are you? Did you get lost on the way next door?" she scolded. "I was just about to call you."

I rolled my eyes. "You know where I am, Mom…"

"Is Bella okay?"

"She's fine. But you're never gonna believe this…"

"What?" she asked eagerly. So eagerly, in fact, that I suspected she was hoping for some sort of miraculous change in my relationship with Bella. While things between me and Bella really had indeed changed overnight, I wasn't quite ready for that knowledge to go public.

"She's been asleep the entire afternoon. Had no clue the power was out. I actually woke her up, pounding on the door, and let me tell you, that was _not_ a pretty sight."

Bella shot me a dirty look—and the finger—and I struggled not to laugh. Contrary to what I'd just told my mother, I actually thought that it was a absolutely fucking beautiful sight. In an attempt to let her know that I was just joking, I walked to where she was still standing by the window and dropped another kiss on her forehead, mouthing the words, "just joking." She rolled her eyes, but slipped her arms around my waist and laid her head on my chest.

My mother sighed in exasperation. "Oh, Edward."

She'd obviously taken my words at face value, and I chuckled in relief. The humor faded from my voice as I relayed the message I had called to discuss.

"Bella's phone is dead and her fire is about to go out, Mom, so the Chief isn't comfortable with her staying here. Not without power or a phone."

Bella stiffened against me, obviously unaware that this is what her father had in mind. Tilting her head, she looked at me, waiting for my next question, but I didn't even have to ask. My mother beat me to it.

"I'll call Charlie right away and tell him that Bella is welcome to stay with us for a few days."

I sighed, but I didn't know if it was in relief or frustration. "Thanks, Mom," I stated quietly before hanging up the phone.

"What just happened?" Bella asked warily.

I sighed again. "Looks like you're coming to stay with us for a few days."

"What?" she screeched, pulling away from me abruptly. "I'm perfectly fine here."

"Bella…" I admonished. "I have a feeling this weather is going to get worse before it gets better. You can't stay here. You have no power, no phone, and you're about to have no heat."

She took another step back. "But I can't stay with you."

"Why not?"

She started pacing. "Okay… not the right words. I don't _want_ to stay with you."

Her words hit me right in the gut. After years of 'wanting' me, now she didn't? The mixed messages were fucking killing me. I clenched my jaw and gritted out, "Again, why not?"

"It's just… too much, too soon. I'll want to—" She stopped pacing and turned to me with a pointed look. "What are we doing, Edward?"

_That_ was the million dollar question. The one I wasn't ready to think about yet. But Bella was looking at me, expecting an answer. My stomach once again dropped to my feet at her words. My heart couldn't decide whether to stop or race, so it alternated between the two, leaving an uncomfortable ache in my chest.

"I don't know…" I finally admitted.

"Do you like me?" she asked, her voice small and uncertain.

"I think it's obvious that I like you, Bella."

Her back straightened. "No, it's obvious you like kissing me. Liking _me_ is a different matter."

The words left my mouth before I could contain them. "Yes, I like _you_, Bella. But it's not as simple as that…"

"Yes, it is, Edward."

Shoving my hands into my hair, I sighed in frustration and confusion. Why did everything have to be so fucking complicated? Because it was complicated. I'd spent more than three years avoiding Bella, definitely _not_ liking her. Yet, in the course of one evening, every-fucking-thing had changed. Hell… _I_ had changed. It was like a dirty window had been cleaned, and I was finally able to see the unimaginable beauty that lay on the other side. And now that the window was clean, I had no desire to go back to the way things were.

That said, was I really ready to throw that window open and jump through, embrace what lay beyond as my own? Do the metaphorical cannon-ball off the high diving board?

Fuck…

Realization came slowly. I did like her. Hell… I more than liked her. It was scary and exciting all at the same time. From just a few conversations, I'd learned that Bella and I had a lot in common. Besides, once she started talking, she challenged me in a way that surprised—and excited—me. And the kisses? Holy fucking shit! I'd felt more in those few exchanges than I'd ever experienced before—I felt _her_ in my gut. And lower. There was a connection with Bella that I definitely wanted to explore.

In that moment I knew I'd do that fucking cannon-ball in a heartbeat for Bella. In private. But in front of others—and in this particular case, my mother? I wasn't sure if I was ready for that. I sighed in resignation and opened my eyes to look at her. She was watching me warily. She frowned slightly as I stared at her intently, trying to convey all I was feeling without saying the words_: _

_I want you, I want this…__**us**__… but I need some time_.

Her shoulders sagged, but she nodded slightly.

"Go pack some stuff, Bella. You can't stay here."

Once again, she went. Five minutes later, she was back, a duffle bag slung over her shoulder. She suited up for the snow, and after locking the front door, we headed out.

It wasn't a long walk, only a couple hundred yards, but the snow had continued to pile up—it was now above my knees, and still falling heavily. Bella was struggling to navigate it. I took her bag, slinging it over my shoulder, and offered her my hand. She hesitated, but eventually slipped her fingers into mine, so that I could help her over the uneven ground. While I had offered my hand in assistance, I was once again struck by how absolutely fucking _right_ it felt to simply hold her hand.

When we arrived at my house, the door was open before we even got to the stairs. My mother was smiling at us, her eyes locked on our clasped hands, which caused me some concern. As soon as we cleared the top step and all danger of falling was gone, I dropped Bella's hand like a hot potato. My mother's smile sagged and I _felt_ Bella frown, felt her disappointment radiating toward me in waves.

As we cleared the door—and while my mother's back was turned—I shot Bella a quick glance, in which I tried to convey a message:

_Trust me_.

* * *

**A/N:** *Sigh* In some ways, Edward is just as clueless as Esme, isn't he? Men! Argh.

So… What do you all think's gonna happen over the next few days?

A lot of the weather situations in this chapter come from personal experience. In my senior year of HS, a tornado came through our neighborhood the day after Christmas, knocking out power for several days. We lived in the basement, staying warm by the old Franklin stove and eating food we warmed on the granite top. In my freshman year of college, Birmingham AL got hit with a blizzard: 24inches fell overnight, and the transformer that supplied power to our campus blew up while I was outside playing in the snow. We had no power for 3 days and lived on cold tomato soup and sandwiches.

And... it's snowing here, again. 5th time in a month.

Any of you guys got winter weather horror stories?


	5. Where Are You, Christmas?

**A/N: **Ugh. **MORE** snow! At least I have power and am not stuck in my house with my mother and sibling (in my case, my younger brother). Unfortunately, MistletoeWard isn't that lucky. Let's see how he's been faring…

Thanks to **Kaydee1005** for betaing. I made some substantial changes after her edits, so any errors are all mine.

**Disclaimer:** Twilight isn't mine, much to my chagrin. However, MistletoeWard—in all his dysfunctional glory—belongs to me.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Part V: Where Are You Christmas?**

**December 29**

Bella obviously didn't get the fucking message.

Instead, the last three days had been an exercise in fucking torture.

I'd known going in that having Bella staying in my house—hell, essentially camping out in the same room with me—was going to be difficult. Now that things had changed between us, I wanted her. Really fucking badly. So much so, I'd spent the better part of the last three days in a constant state of semi-arousal. However, I wanted to explore the possibility of a relationship with her privately. That was impossible when my mother and sister served as constant chaperones; they were always there, preventing any kind of _private _conversation.

It was not at all the scenario that I envisioned.

On the few occasions when I found myself alone with Bella, there'd been a lot of avoidance (on her part) and frustration (on my part). The more she avoided me, the more irritated I became, and perversely, the more I wanted her.

It was a nasty fucking cycle.

I didn't get it. I thought we had come to some sort of agreement the other day. I thought she understood that I wanted to keep it private for a little while, that I just needed a little time to figure things out before letting anyone in on the new development of… _us_.

I guess she didn't get that message, either.

It was now Wednesday afternoon, and the snow was beginning to melt. The fallen tree had finally been removed this morning, and the power had come back on about half an hour ago. My mother and sister had gone upstairs to the kitchen shortly thereafter—after three days of lukewarm soup and cold sandwiches, we were all ready for some real, hot food. The smell of frying bacon was wafting down the stairs, and though my mouth was watering at the thought of fried eggs, bacon and buttered toast, I made no move to leave the basement.

Instead, I was standing at the base of the stairs, arms crossed over my chest and scowling fiercely at Bella, who was shoving her clothes haphazardly into her duffle so that she could go home.

"Quit staring, Edward," she finally said.

"Oh, what… now that you can leave, you'll finally fucking talk to me?" I snipped petulantly.

She shoved a pair of sweats into the bag roughly.

"I would have talked to you, if you had actually wanted to _talk_, Edward. But you and I both know that talking was the last thing on your mind over the past three days. You were either ignoring me or scowling at me when your mom and sister were here, or trying to jump me the second we were alone." She looked up to pin me with a pointed stare. "Your mixed signals are giving me whiplash."

Frustration got the better of me. "Mixed signals? What the fuck are you talking about, Bella. I think it's pretty fucking obvious that I want—"

"Yes," she interrupted. "It's more than obvious what you want. _When we're alone_. But when your mother or sister is present, you give me the cold shoulder. You act like it pains you to even be in the same room with me."

"I have been in pain," I muttered under my breath, shifting restlessly. I was _still_ in fucking pain; my pants were uncomfortably tight from going three days in her presence without any fucking relief.

She rolled her eyes.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." She sighed dramatically, then looked at me imploringly. "I can't turn it on and off the way you do, Edward. And I won't play your games. It's simple. You either like me or you don't. You either want to be with me, or you don't. I won't be your 'sometime'…" she paused, looking for the right word, and when she continued, her hands flailed wildly. "…_plaything_."

"You're not just a plaything, Bella," I retorted, angry at her assumption.

"Well, it sure as hell feels that way right now," she snapped. "But that's not the point I was trying to make. What I meant is that I won't be the person you spend time with only when it's convenient for you—for example, _when_ _no one is around_."

Her words were pointed and purposeful, as was her glare. She stared at me for a moment, eyes boring into me, searching for… _something_. It made me uncomfortable, because I fucking knew what that something was. I shifted restlessly, finding it hard to meet her gaze and eventually looking away. Then she sighed. When she spoke again, her voice was resolute.

"If you want to be with me, it's all or none, Edward."

Shoving my hands into my hair, I tugged in frustration. "That's not fair, Bella. Hell… I'm still trying to figure this thing out. So much has changed so quickly, and we have a lot of history to work through. Bad history. I need some time to ease into this thing, just you and me. I'm not trying to hide you—or us—but I'm not ready to do this in front of an audience yet. Especially my mother."

She laughed, but the sound was humorless. "But that's exactly what you're doing, Edward. Hiding me. And don't use your mother as an excuse. Are you willing to tell anyone else?" She tilted her head in contemplation. "Jasper or Emmett perhaps?

I huffed, then pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration. No, I wasn't fucking ready to tell my friends; I could only imagine the massive amount of shit they'd give me about Bella.

"That's what I thought."

She hoisted her bag to her shoulder and walked to the stairs, careful not to touch me.

"Bella, wait…"

Reaching out, my hand brushed her arm. Electric awareness shot from my fingertips, up my arm, and settled in the region of my heart, but she jerked away. As she stepped up onto the first stair, she turned to face me.

"No, Edward, _you_ wait. All I've wanted for the past three years was to be with you. But even though we talked and kissed and have this… _thing_…" she waved her hand between the two of us, "whatever it is, between us, I'm still not _with_ you. You're still making me feel like I'm nothing more than an annoyance."

"That's not—"

She cut me off. Again.

"Stop! Just… stop. You know what, Edward? Even though that kiss in my house the other day made me feel things that I never imagined were even possible—especially with you—it's not enough. Not nearly enough. I deserve better, and you know it. So, until you figure out what the hell you really want from me, and until you're willing to be honest with yourself and everyone else about it, you can go fuck yourself, Cullen, 'cause you're sure as hell not getting any action from me."

With that, she fled up the stairs, leaving me rooted to the spot, dumbfounded and open-mouthed.

From where I stood, I listened to her footsteps as she walked to the kitchen and the sound of the girls talking in the kitchen. Although I couldn't discern the words that were being spoken, it was impossible to miss my mother's alarmed tone. A moment later, the front door opened and closed. Silence followed.

I waited five minutes before going upstairs. Of course, it took that long for my brain, and feet, to begin functioning again after the berating that Bella had just given me.

The inquisition began as soon as I stepped through the fucking door.

"What the hell did you say to that girl, Edward?"

My mother's voice was angry and accusatory, which caused my hackles to rise. Before I could process my words, they came spewing forth.

"Why is it always me, Mom? Huh? How do you know that _Bella_ didn't say something to upset _me_?"

My mother rolled her eyes. "Oh, _please_, Edward. She never talks to you. Besides, she was fine when I left."

"Really? She was fine?" I asked angrily, glaring at her. "So… You haven't noticed anything _different_ about Bella in the last few days?"

"What are you talking about, Edward?" she asked.

"Just think about it."

She frowned at me, but her eyes narrowed as she obviously tried to recall anything different. I could tell by the confused look on her face that she couldn't. Shaking my head, I walked through the kitchen in order to head to the stairs, pausing to brush her forehead with my lips as I passed.

"You're really not very observant, Mom," I chided as I passed through the doorway.

~/~

Twenty minutes later, I was lying on my bed, letting my mind wander over the events of the past week. I still had a hard time wrapping my head around everything that had happened. The fact that things with Bella and me were obviously still changing—still in limbo—made it even more difficult for me to process. My thoughts swirled, faster and faster, until it felt as if my brain was being squeezed from the inside by the weighted pressure of it all. Closing my eyes, I raised my hands to cradle my head, as if attempting to keep my brain, and all the damning thoughts, from escaping my head.

It was too late for that, though; that ship had already fucking sailed. While I'd been trying to keep it all under wraps—trying to keep everyone else from seeing the truth—Bella had seen right through me. She'd recognized that the front I'd put up wasn't for anyone's benefit but my own.

And she'd called me on it.

While I had used my mother as an excuse, it was just that: a lame fucking excuse. I wasn't ready to admit my new-found attraction to Bella. I _was_ hiding. But in one regard, she'd been wrong. I wasn't hiding her. I was hiding… _me_.

I groaned in frustration and rolled over to bury my head in my pillow.

Not to sound cocky, but everything had always come easy to me—whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it. School, sports, sex. Especially the sex. However, most of my previous experience had usually come in the no-strings variety. Which was easy in its own right.

This was completely different.

Bella was different.

Hell… _Nothing_ was easy about this situation.

From our complicated history of non-friendship to the over-eager and constant set up attempts by my mother—not to mention the shit I knew I would get from my friends when they found out—Bella was anything but easy. Not only that, I instinctively knew that she wasn't one of those girls who would take the easy path, sexual or otherwise. No… she was a girl who believed in love. True love, not just the sentimental bullshit that guys spewed to get into a girl's pants. She was open and honest, willing to put her heart on the line for the sake of truth. The way she questioned me this morning confirmed that she would never be happy with an undercover relationship that consisted of nothing more than stolen moments of conversation and clandestine make-out sessions.

She wanted it all.

She'd said as much earlier, claiming that she deserved it.

The strange thing was, I agreed with her. Now that I'd gotten to know Bella a little bit better, and now that we'd talked about life and what we wanted out of it, I wanted all of that for her, too. I just wasn't sure if I was the one who could give it to her.

It was a sobering thought.

I'd never really failed at anything before, but _this_ felt like a failure. _I_ felt like a failure. Fuck… Maybe I _was_ a failure. I sure as hell had failed her thus far. She was right… I had treated her unfairly, expecting her to understand why I acted the way that I did and to understand everything I was feeling—hopes and fears—without talking to her about it.

The real problem was that I hadn't taken the time to figure it out for my-fucking-self. To be honest, I hadn't thought about anything beyond kissing her again. I hadn't really wanted to—the feelings I had were all new, completely different from anything that I'd felt before. And the fact that I was thinking, _feeling_, them about Bella made it even more complicated.

What would everyone think?

It really shouldn't matter, but for some reason it did. I guess that's just human-fucking-nature.

What would my friends think when they found out about this? Hell… I'd spent the last three years talking down to and about Bella because of her 'annoying fucking crush' on me. I really hated to think about the shit I knew would come on the heels of this disclosure. And our parents? Well, it seemed as if I already had the Chief's blessing, which was good, and I suspected that my mother would be thrilled. But was I ready for them all to know?

I was saved from answering that question when a knock sounded on my door.

Unfortunately, it was my mother.

"Honey?"

I rolled back over with a grunt. "Yeah."

She poked her head—and a plate of food—in the door. "You hungry?"

I hadn't been. The way my stomach was churning made me feel as if I would never eat again. But as soon as the scent of bacon drifted into my room, I found myself starved. So I nodded my head and sat up. My mom crossed the room and handed me the plate, then took a seat at the foot of the bed. She was silent while I ate, for which I was thankful, but I felt her studying me curiously. When I was done, I turned to her.

"Thanks," I told her.

She smiled. "No problem, honey."

Forget the fucking cat. The curiosity was killing _her_. I could sense that she wanted to talk, but for once, she was holding back. I had to smile at the strained look on her face—it was unpleasant, like she was fucking constipated or something. Hell… For her, holding back the questions was essentially verbal constipation. With that thought, the smile broke through. The longer we went without talking and the more strained her expression became, the wider I smiled, until somehow, I found myself laughing. Real, gut-busting, tears-rolling-down-my-cheek laughing.

She didn't appreciate it, if the scowl on her face was any indication.

"What's so funny?" she asked, obviously irritated.

"You."

"Why am I so funny?"

I rolled my eyes. "You're not very subtle, Mom. You know exactly why I'm laughing."

The scowl deepened, and I chuckled again. Then I sighed and turned to her with serious eyes.

"But really, why are you holding back now? Nothing's ever stopped you in the past. Go ahead."

She searched my eyes for a moment, then nodded her head slightly.

"What did you mean earlier, about Bella being different?"

I studied her closely for a moment. "You honestly didn't notice?"

She shook her head, eyes pinched.

"You haven't noticed that she hasn't stuttered once in the past four days? Or that she hasn't stared at the ground or tripped all over her own feet whenever I was in the same room?"

Her brow furrowed, and she tilted her head contemplatively. "No, I hadn't noticed. But now that you mention it…" She turned to look at me pointedly. "What's going on, Edward?"

"I don't know," I answered her honestly.

"Something happened…"

I shrugged and nodded at the same time. Then I sighed heavily. "Yeah. On Christmas Eve. A 'friend' of hers pushed her too far—hurt her. I intervened. We talked afterwards, for quite a while. Once she stopped stuttering…"

I shrugged again and looked warily at my mother. She was obviously trying to put two and two together. It finally clicked.

"Wait… You were out late that night because you were at the Swans'?"

I nodded, but didn't offer up any more information. That obviously didn't satisfy my mother.

"Did… anything else happen? Something more than just talking?" she finally asked.

"Yeah…" I reluctantly admitted.

Her mouth popped open into a little 'o' of surprise.

We sat in silence for a moment. Sighing yet again, I shoved my hands into my hair, gripping tightly and bowing my head.

"But you've been so… _not nice_… to her for the past three days, Edward, scowling at her all the time and acting like nothing has changed. She looked terrified whenever you were close."

"I know," I groaned.

I suddenly realized that Bella's startled looks weren't fear as my mother interpreted, but hurt. A really fucking deep-seated hurt that I was constantly pushing her away, at least when anyone else was in the room. I'd been pretending that nothing was different when _everything_ was different.

Talk about mixed messages.

My gut clenched into a giant fucking knot, and the food I'd just eaten rumbled uncomfortably in my now-roiling stomach. I groaned again.

"Oh, God. I fucked it up, Mom."

"Hmm…" she encouraged.

I didn't even know what to say, how to explain what had happened, because I hadn't completely figured it out for myself yet.

"I think I've lost her before I really even had her," I lamented.

Her hand came to rest on my back, rubbing reassuring circles. When she spoke, her voice was hesitant.

"Does that bother you?"

I huffed and did the shrug-nod thing again.

"Edward… I don't know what's happened, or what you said to her, but, well… just have faith, honey. She was upset today, yes. But you have to have _feelings_—real feelings—for someone before they can upset you like that. She left, yes. But you know exactly where she is, if you decide you want to find her."

She paused for a moment, causing me to frown. And think. Bella wasn't the only one who was upset; I was fucking upset too. Upset that Bella was upset with me. What the fuck did that mean?

"That said," she continued, "you really need to think about what you're going to do and why. That girl has been in love with you for four years. Granted, it was superficial love—just a crush—but feelings are feelings. You don't need to go fucking around with her emotions, not if you're not serious. Okay?"

With a final pat to my back, she stood up, grabbed my empty plate, and left my room.

For a few moments, I sat on my bed, shocked by her speech. I'd _never_ heard my mother curse before. The fact that she used the f-word in her advice emphasized its importance. Not only that, but she was right.

She'd said pretty much the same thing Bella had earlier.

I groaned, knowing that I needed to talk to Bella. But first, I needed to figure out what the hell _I_ wanted.

Bella had been right: I either liked her or I didn't; I either wanted to be with her or I didn't.

It _was_ all or none.

I fell backward onto the bed with another agonized groan.

I obviously had some serious thinking to do. Not to mention, a very important a decision to make.

* * *

**A/N**: So… Anyone ready to kill MistletoeWard yet? HaHa. Don't worry—you won't have to wait long to find out what he decided.


	6. It Must Have Been the Mistletoe, reprise

**A/N: **So, guys, this is it—the final regular chapter of MistletoeWard! This story was about Edward's changing view of Bella and his reactions to those new and unexpected feelings—the journey he undertook to figure out what he really wanted after everything changed under the mistletoe. Hopefully this chapter will help to tie up this leg of their journey. An epilog will follow in 2 more days.

Thanks to **KayDee1005** for betaing.

**Disclaimer: **Sadly, Twilight isn't mine. I have, however, had fun giving Bella a backbone and making MistletoeWard a bit more human.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Part VI: It Must Have Been the Mistletoe, reprise**

**December 31**

New Year's Eve found me following another yearly tradition: attending a party with my friends.

Tonight, we were at Jasper's house. Like the Christmas Eve party at the Chief's, I was in front of the fire, talking to Emmett. And just like last week, this party felt… _different_. Once again, I felt different. Hell, only a week had passed since Christmas Eve, yet it felt like a lifetime. A lifetime in which I had aged and changed, even more so than during my first semester of college. Although I was with the same people I had seen last week, the friends I had spent my entire life with, I felt odd—disjointed and disconnected.

Emmett picked up on my unsettled mood. After a few minutes of discussing Christmas and the snow, he called me on it.

"Dude… What's up?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," I stated with an ironic head shake.

"C'mon. After Jasper's news? I think I could believe anything at this point."

"Huh?"

"Wait? You haven't heard?" Emmett grinned excitedly.

"Heard what?"

"You haven't talked to Jasper in the past few days?"

"Other than responding to his party invite email? No."

He laughed. "Oh, this is great! So…" He paused dramatically. "Jasper and Alice are now a thing."

"A thing?"

"Uh huh."

"What the hell does that mean?"

A contemplative frown displaced Emmett's wide smile. "You know, I didn't ask. I guess they're together now. Although whether that means sleeping together or _together_-together, I don't really know. "

"Oh."

"_Oh_? That's it?" He looked at me incredulously. "We're talking about Jasper and _Alice_, dude, and all you can say is… '_Oh'_?"

"What the fuck do you want me to say, Em?" I asked distractedly, as I looked around the room.

It was nearly ten o'clock, and I still hadn't seen Bella yet. We hadn't spoken since Wednesday, but I knew she'd be here tonight—in the absence of conversation, I'd been FaceBook stalking her for the past two days, looking for clues to her mood, her life, hell… _her_. I'd seen her status change earlier this evening to read "getting ready for the party". In a small town like Forks, the rituals were adhered to religiously, and the annual New Year's party was something that no one missed. So, I was sure she'd show up at some point in time. I just hoped it was sooner rather than later; I needed to fucking talk to her.

I was yanked back to the conversation when Emmett mentioned Bella.

"What?" I asked, hoping that he'd said her name because he'd seen her.

Emmett rolled his eyes. "What's gotten into you tonight, Cullen? Pay attention. We're talking about Alice. You know, the girl who's been chasing Jasper for months. The one he's now 'together' with. The only thing more fucked up than that would be if you hooked up with Bella."

He chortled at his own supposed joke. Suddenly even more uncomfortable, I just shot him a pained smile, then shoved my hands in my pockets and looked down to where the toe of my shoe was now scuffing the floor. A week ago, I would have guffawed right along with him and quite possibly cracked some mean-ass joke. Only now, it wasn't a joke anymore. _Bella_ wasn't a joke to me anymore.

"Jesus, Cullen. What's your deal?"

I just shrugged, and then began perusing the room once more, desperately hoping that Bella had shown up sometime in the past few minutes.

"Who the hell are you looking for?"

I sighed, once again _not_ finding her.

"No one, Em."

Emmett shook his head and _tsked_ at me. "Fuck, man. It's like you're love-sick or something."

My head snapped in his direction. "What?"

"Yeah… You're all mopey and shit. What the fuck? It's New Year's, dude. Lighten up, have some fun. Find an empty room…" He waggled his eyebrows. "Stanley's over there, eye-fucking you again. You know she'd be good to go. Why not take her up on her offer?"

I snorted in derision. "I've told you before, McCarty, there's no way my dick is going anywhere near that skank. She hooked up with Newton, remember?"

His nose wrinkled in distaste. "Oh yeah. Forget I suggested that. Friends definitely don't let friends spelunk anywhere that Mike Newton went first."

I had to laugh at his analogy as well as the disgusted look on his face.

"Spelunking, Em? Like, _going down_ in a cave?" I rolled my eyes. "That's not real subtle, is it?"

"Nope," he replied with a wide smile. "Wasn't supposed to be."

I just shook my head, but his smile was infectious, and somehow I found myself smiling right along with him. Until his eyes narrowed in a contemplative glint, and he spoke his next words.

"Ooh, hoo! Things are gonna get interesting now."

"Why?

"Look who just walked in…"

Turning to follow his gaze, I momentarily froze—Alice and Bella were standing inside the door. They'd just shed their coats and were talking quietly, heads bent towards one another. Alice said something that caused Bella to laugh heartily, and my breath caught in my fucking throat at the sight. With lips curled and eyes crinkled in the throes of a wide smile, Bella truly was breathtaking.

How had I never seen it before?

After stowing their coats, the girls turned and entered the room, looking around briefly. Like a deer in fucking headlights, I was rooted to the spot when Bella's eyes landed on me. For a moment, her warm gaze softened into the look of longing I was used to. But before I could respond, her lips turned down into a frown, and her chin tipped up in a show of determination. Milk chocolate turned bittersweet as her eyes cooled. The meaning behind her now-chilly glare was clear—she wasn't going to make this easy. No… She was throwing down the fucking gauntlet, tossing the ball into my court. My heart, which had been tripping excitedly in my chest, stumbled to a halt as realization set in. In that moment, I was absolutely certain that I only had one shot at making things right with Bella. If I fucked it up, this would all be over before it ever really began. After delivering her silent message, she tossed her hair over her shoulder and walked away.

"Let the fireworks begin," Emmett whispered eagerly, nudging me in the ribs and rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "This is gonna be really fucking fun."

"Why do you say that?" I asked stiffly, wondering if he had caught my exchange with Bella. But when I turned to him, Emmett was watching Alice sashay across the room toward Jasper.

"Well… I can't wait to see how Jasper handles this first test of 'togetherness'."

I relaxed minutely, although tension still held my body captive.

What Emmett didn't know—and what I had just belatedly realized—is that Jasper wasn't the only one being tested tonight.

Although Emmett chortled in gleeful anticipation as Alice finally reached Jasper, I had no interest in the fireworks that he predicted were going to fly. The only thing I was concerned with right now was the finger of fearthat had reached out to squeeze my heart as I watched Bella walk away from me. Like a moment from the movies when the camera pauses, freezing all the characters in place, I felt suspended in time, as if I was waiting for something to happen. I just didn't know what that something was.

No, that wasn't true. I knew _exactly_ what that something was. I just wasn't sure how the fuck I was going to play it yet.

For the next twenty minutes, I pretended to watch Jasper and Alice, grunting appropriately in response to Emmett's chuckles and scathing comments. However, while I was facing in the right direction, I wasn't paying attention to Jasper and Alice; I was surreptitiously watching Bella from the corner of my eye, keeping track of her every movement and never losing sight of her. She stopped to talk to Angela, and I saw her eyes roll at whatever Angela said before she laughed lightly. But then she turned to glance at Jasper and Alice, who were standing side-by-side next to the table of refreshments, and it was impossible to _not_ notice the look of intense longing—and envy—that flickered briefly across her features before she looked away. Adopting an amused and excited expression, she continued her conversation with Angela, which was obviously about Jasper and Alice.

No surprises there. The fact that Jasper and Alice were now a couple was the story of the night. Hell, in a small town like Forks, it might be the story of the fucking year.

Allowing my eyes to drift from Bella, they settled on Jasper. His arm was now slung around Alice's waist, and she was happily snuggled against his side. They exchanged a sappy fucking grin that spoke of attraction and… togetherness. _That_ had never been something I had particularly desired in the past—at least not with any of the girls I had gone out with recently—but suddenly I found myself insanely fucking jealous of Jasper and the ease with which he disregarded and downplayed all the gossip that was swirling in the room.

_Why couldn't' it be that fucking easy for me?_

My jaw clenched in frustration and anger as I contemplated my situation with Bella. For four fucking years, she had been a constant pebble in my shoe that I hadn't been able to get rid of no matter how hard I tried. Making it worse was the fact that I'd made a big fucking deal to my friends about how much of pain in the ass she'd been. But in the last week, I'd seen a different side to Bella. Hell… I'd seen a different Bella, period. A Bella I'd actually liked. She'd been brave in the face of an awkward and precarious situation, had befriended and defended my sister, had been both a gracious host and grateful guest, and had made me feel things that I'd never thought were possible. My heart clenched and my stomach churned—in a good way—just thinking about the kisses we shared. I'd never experienced anything that… _intense_… before. What if it never happened again?

In that moment, I realized I wanted nothing other than to walk across the room and slip my arm around her waist, just like Jasper was doing with Alice.

With that realization, everything clicked into place. Suddenly, I felt as if I was standing on the edge of a cliff, trying to decide if I was going to jump or not. Looking over the edge, it was a really fucking long, and really fucking scary, way down. The thought of jumping scared the shit out of me, but I realized now that I had to do it—I had to jump. There was no other choice.

All that mattered was Bella, and if this was the step necessary for her to believe in me…

Fuck what everyone else thought.

Taking a deep breath, I offered up a brief, silent prayer and took the metaphorical leap off the cliff.

Straightening my spine, I excused myself from a startled Emmett and walked purposefully across the room, stopping right behind Bella. The air crackled with anticipation. She was pretending she didn't know I was there, but I'd seen her shoulders stiffen slightly when I was a few feet away, so I knew that she was just as aware of me as I was of her. Looking over her shoulder, I smiled at Angela, whose eyes had gone wide as soon as I'd approached.

"Hey, Angela," I greeted.

"H-hi, Edward," she responded, turning her surprised gaze from me to Bella.

"Bella, can I talk to you?"

At my words, Bella's shoulders heaved slightly with the weight of her indrawn breath. Though I couldn't see her face, I knew that she must have indicated something to Angela, because Angela's mouth popped open in a little 'o' of understanding. She quickly snapped it shut and slid her now-narrowed eyes back to me, studying me for a moment. I smiled at her, but her continued stare left me feeling slightly unsettled.

It surprised me to find myself nervous about talking to a girl, because that was something I'd _never_ worried about in the past. Hell… I was known for my smooth moves. But there was no doubt that I was extremely fucking nervous right now. My fingers itched, although I didn't know if it was because I wanted to shove them into my own hair in frustration or into Bella's hair so that I could raise the silky strands to my face and inhale her in. Either of those options would likely send the wrong message, so I settled for fisting them at my side.

Finally, Angela nodded her head slightly in response. With one last lingering look at Bella, she turned and walked away.

"Bella?"

Slowly—_really fucking slowly_—Bella turned to face me. The look on her face was completely blank; no emotions were revealed whatsoever in her stoic expression. But her eyes… that was a different story. When they finally settled on me, those overly-expressive orbs once again pinned me in place. I sucked in a sharp breath at the maelstrom of emotion that was revealed in their chocolate depths: confusion, longing, determination, acceptance, and underneath it all, a guarded hope.

For the first time in our four year acquaintance, I understood exactly how she felt, because I felt it, too.

"You were right," I said simply.

"About what," she asked cautiously.

"Everything."

Her breath caught, and her eyes bored into mine, searching. She must have found the reassurance she was looking for in my gaze, because a smile—a real smile—twitched at the corner of her lips. Before she could say anything, I took a single step forward. Giving into temptation, I raised a hand and twisted my finger in one of the mahogany tendrils that draped over her shoulder. Lifting it to my face, I closed my eyes and inhaled, submerging myself in the rich scent that was all Bella.

"Everything?" she prompted.

Opening my eyes, I apologized. "I should've talked to you; it wasn't fair of me to expect you to understand without telling you what I was feeling. In my defense, I was confused and overwhelmed, and I didn't understand it myself. But still, I should have made an effort to talk, rather than ignore you or glare at you when others were present, or try to kiss you only when we were alone."

"Yeah," she said softly. "Mixed messages, remember?"

I nodded.

"You're not a plaything, Bella. And I wasn't trying to hide you. Honestly, I think I was hiding from myself. I was so confused… But still, you were right. That wasn't fair. You _do_ deserve better than that."

This time she nodded.

"No more hiding?" she asked hesitantly.

"No more hiding," I promised.

Letting her hair slip slowly through my fingers, I reached up to cup her jaw with my palms. Taking another step closer, my thumbs slid softly against the smooth skin of her cheeks. Our eyes met, locked. Her breath caught and held, then _whooshed_ out in a small huff when I took one final step forward and my knees brushed against her thighs. I tipped her chin up, bringing her even closer.

"No more hiding," I whispered again, against her lips.

Closing my eyes, I lowered my head, finally capturing her lips with my own. She sighed in response to that first contact, and I took advantage of her parted lips. Once again, the taste of strawberries and honey burst upon my tongue. The sensations were overwhelming, and like a swimmer caught in a rip-tide, I was quickly pulled out and under by the power of the current. I made no effort to fight it. Instead, I surrendered to the undeniable force that swept me along, perfectly content to drown in all the sensations that suddenly surrounded me.

With a small groan, one of my hands dropped from her head to her waist, pulling Bella even closer. Her body was pressed against mine in all the right places, and my fingers once again curled into the curve of her backside. My tongue swiped at the fullness of her lower lip, testing and tasting and teasing. A low whimper sounded in the back of her throat, and her hands snaked around my waist, her fingers pressing into the dip at the base of my spine as if searching for purchase. Her slight squeeze pulled us even closer, and I shuddered slightly at the contrast of her soft curves pressed against my hard planes.

Suddenly, soft, gentle kisses weren't nearly enough. Pushing my free hand into her hair, I tipped her head back and roughly sucked her lower lip into my mouth. Her hands slid up my back to clutch at my shoulders when my tongue pressed past the sensitive inner edge of her lip, her short nails digging into my skin through the thin fabric of my shirt. With a final whimper, I felt her give, and finally, _finally_, she pushed back, invading my mouth with her own tongue. We both groaned at the sensation, both obviously eager for more after almost a week of anticipation.

Hands roved and clutched. Tongues tangled and tasted. Noses bumped, knees thumped and eventually failed, sending her sprawling into me. It was desperate and sloppy and… _perfect_. Blood rushed through my head, drowning out all sounds other than the periodic pants, gasps and groans that escaped our mouths. I should have been embarrassed by all the little telling sounds that escaped from me, but I couldn't be bothered to worry when her own revealing sounds served only to spur me on.

Eventually, the frantic rush subsided. My lips and tongue gentled, soothing rather than stimulating. My fingers released her hair and hip, resettling on her face, holding her lips gently to mine. My forehead dipped to rest against hers while we both regained our breath and composure. With one final soothing nip at her lower lip, I lifted my head and gazed down at her in wonder.

In the aftermath of the explosive kiss, the real world intruded really fucking quickly; the absolute silence alerted me to the fact that something wasn't quite right. When I looked away from Bella, my gaze landed on a roomful of people who were all staring at us. Response ranged from amused to confused to absolutely fucking shocked. Dropping an arm to her waist, I pulled her closer into my body, as if to protect her from all the prying eyes that now, obviously, couldn't get enough. She buried her head in my chest, her shallow gasps warming my skin through the barrier of my shirt. Tracing abstract designs on her back with my fingers, I dipped my head to kiss the top of hers.

Straightening my spine, I stared back at each and every person in the room. Some frowned, some smiled, some—like Jasper—just shook their heads and snickered. But even though the show was now over, no one spoke. Needing to break the tension, I did.

"Yes, I just kissed Bella Swan. Anyone got a problem with that?" I asked defiantly.

The silence continued.

"I'll take that as a 'no.' I'll also take that to mean that no one has a problem if I kiss her again, right?"

Heads shook, and while no one said anything, I did register several reassuring smiles. Not waiting for an answer, I turned back to Bella. Encouraging her to look up, I smiled widely at her.

Then I kissed her again. In front of everyone, no holds barred. I think there were a few hoots and hollers, but I wasn't really paying attention. The only thing that mattered to me in that moment was Bella.

As she'd said the other day, it was all or nothing.

I wanted it all.

~/~

Much later, long after the New Year's Ball dropped and I had kissed Bella yet again, I was once again standing by the fireplace talking to Emmett and Jasper. As expected, they gave me shit about the whole Bella thing, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I had feared it might be. It was more good-natured ribbing rather than mean-spirited ridicule. But even if it had been, I would have taken it all with a smile.

Because Bella was worth it.

Speaking of Bella… I looked around until I found her, standing across the room, chatting with Angela, Alice and Rose. A smile tweaked at the corners of my lips. As if she felt me looking at her, Bella glanced over her shoulder and sent a wide smile in my direction. I swear to fucking God I sighed.

"Good, God, man…" Jasper snorted. "What the fuck happened to your balls."

I whipped my head around to pin him with a pointed stare. "Like you're one to talk…"

"I know, I know…" Jasper sighed, his eyes landing on Alice, a goofy smile breaking on his lips.

I turned away so he wouldn't see my own knowing smile.

"I still can't wrap my head around it… You and Bella…" Emmett added distractedly. "Explain it to me again, how you and Bella got together."

I shook my head ironically and laughed lightly. Cocking my head to the side, I took a moment to think about everything that had happened in the last week—the public declaration here tonight, getting snowed in together, the kiss at her house, Christmas Dinner, the snowball fight, our first kiss.

The mistletoe.

I smiled.

"What can I say, Em? It must have been the mistletoe."

* * *

**A/N:** Did MistletoeWard redeem himself? I sure as hell hope so!

I just want to say a big "Thank You" to all of you who have read, reviewed, PM'd, tweeted about, and discussed MistletoeWard. This was just a fun, fluffy little o/s that I realized had the potential to go a bit futher. To be honest, I've been a blocked in my story telling for the past few months, so to have all of your positive responses has been such a blessing and encouragement to me. I love all of you guys!

Be sure to stick around for a glimpse into their future. Epi will post on Wednesday.


	7. This Gift

**A/N: **So... I got MORE snow last night. At this point, I'm wondering if it's ever going to end. LOL

*Sigh* I can't believe this story is done. It's with mixed emotions—excitement for you to see what I've cooked up for MistletoeWard and his Bella, and sorrow that I now have to let them go—that I bring you this final chapter. I'm so thrilled that you have enjoyed this fluffy little holiday story. Your kind words and encouragement have meant the world to me. Thank you so much for your support!

Final thanks to **KayDee1005** for pulling beta duties for this story. Again, I made substantial changes after she saw this document, so any errors are mine.

**Disclaimer**: Twilight isn't mine, but I had a great time throwing some winter weather their way and making Edward deal with some of his shit. Let's see if he got it right, shall we?

Without further ado…

* * *

**Part VII: This Gift**

_**Christmas Eve, Four years later**_

_~/~_

"Bella… Are you sure about this?"

"Absolutely. I wouldn't have it any other way." She turned to look at me. "It's fitting, don't you think?"

I smiled and nodded. In all honesty, I wouldn't want it any other way, either. It _was_ fitting.

It was… _us_.

Turning the car off, I reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezing gently.

"Just remember, I love you."

She rolled her eyes. "I know you do. I love you, too, Edward."

Giving her hand a final squeeze, I shoved open the door and stepped out into the biting cold. It wasn't snowing yet—there hadn't been holiday snow again in Forks since that Christmas four years ago—but flurries were in the forecast. I smiled. That was fitting, too.

Walking to the back of the car, I popped the trunk, and we each pulled out a bag full of gifts. It was Christmas Eve, and we were just now arriving home for the holidays. Bella had finally graduated last week—a semester early—and we'd spent the last few days moving her out of the dorm and into my apartment. Her father wasn't overly pleased with the arrangement, but I hoped tonight would solve that problem.

We'd driven straight here from Seattle, stopping only to drop our bags at the hotel I'd booked us into. I wasn't sure how either of our parents would feel about that arrangement, either, but there was no way in hell that I was sleeping without her tonight. Even though we had honored her father's request and hadn't officially moved in together until after she graduated, we hadn't spent a night apart since I'd gotten my own apartment last year. _Except_ for when we came home to visit.

That situation was _not_ going to be repeated ever again. Especially not tonight.

Turning to Bella, I smiled. "You ready?"

She nodded, and after taking a deep breath, began walking towards her father's house. We could see all the people milling around through the brightly lit windows. It was one giant reunion —her dad, my parents and sister, Jasper and Alice, Emmett and Rose, and the rest of the crew from high school. Seeing all the familiar people in this particular place brought me right back to that Christmas Eve four years ago—the night in which a small sprig of mistletoe changed everything.

I smiled as I thought about that night, that first kiss, and everything that followed over the past four years. I'd been right—it hadn't been easy. Then again, anything worth something never was. We'd had to deal with a lot, especially in the beginning. Two days after going public with our relationship, I'd had to travel back to Seattle. The distance had been a killer. With me at college and Bella here in Forks, we hadn't been able to spend a lot of time together. In some ways, though, it had been a blessing in disguise; we'd spent a lot of time talking—on the phone, or on either g-chat or Skype when our parents complained about our phone bills. In fact, talking was pretty much the only thing we'd done for those first six months, which in many ways had been really fucking frustrating. However, by the time we were finally in the same location physically, we'd found our common ground emotionally as well.

We hadn't been separated since.

That didn't mean that everything had been sunshine and daisies. Shit… Once we'd passed the 'get to know you' phase of our relationship, Bella had really opened up. And by opened up, I mean lost her natural awkward hesitancy and verbal filter—she had no problem putting me in my fucking place these days, although I think _that_ particular trait had been established early on. In fact, looking back, I truly believe that the only reason we were where we were today was because she'd called me on my bullshit behavior in that very first week.

We'd argued a lot over the past four years. But more times than not, those heated disagreements led to passionate make-up sex, which worked to solidify our relationship even further. She constantly pushed me, challenging me to look—and step—outside the comfortable little box I'd created for myself. To be honest, there's no way in hell I'd be half the man I was today if not for her.

That made tonight even more significant.

As we stepped onto the front porch, I paused to take a deep breath, then grinned at Bella.

"It's show time."

She smiled in return. "Yup!"

"But first, I need something…"

Dropping my bag, I slid my arm around her waist and pulled her in for a quick kiss. Of course, there was no such thing as a quick kiss when my lips were anywhere in the vicinity of Bella's. I took a while to kiss her properly, my tongue gliding against hers, my hands sliding down to cup her backside. She still tasted like strawberries and honey, and even after four years, I could never get enough. She giggled when I gave her ass a squeeze, and then she pulled back to smack me on the arm.

"_Edward_…" she moaned lightly. "We'll never make it in there if you keep _that_ up!"

"Maybe that's the idea," I stated, waggling my eyebrows and leaning in to brush her lips once more. Then I whispered, "I don't like sharing you."

She laughed, but she was breathing heavily, revealing that the kiss had affected her in the same way they always affected me. I was glad that I wasn't the only one. Pulling back, I wiggled my hips in an attempt to rearrange myself before going in. She shot me a knowing smile, then turned to the door, but I reached out and placed a hand on her arm.

"Stop."

I said it quietly, and the seriousness of my tone must have alerted her to the fact that I had something important to say.

"You need something first, too…"

I reached into my pocket, and her eyes went wide as I pulled out the small black velvet box I had stashed there this morning.

"Edward," her voice was small, overwhelmed. "We agreed that I didn't need an engagement ring."

"No. _We_ didn't. _You_ said you didn't need a ring last year when the question just popped out without any plan in place. _I_ was never okay with that. But last year, I couldn't afford it, and there was no way in hell I'd ask my parents for money to buy your ring. So I let the matter drop for the time being. Why do you think I worked so much over the summer? And where do you think the majority of my stipend has gone for the past five months?"

I'd been working my fucking ass off, saving for almost a year to buy her this ring. For almost eight months, I'd picked up extra shifts at the restaurant I'd worked at during college in order to save some money before I started grad school back in August. Everyone knows that there isn't any money in science research, especially in these tough economic times, but the government-supplemented stipend was actually pretty decent. And since my parents had purchased my apartment outright, I had no rent payment and was able to put aside about half of my paycheck every month for this purpose.

Flipping open the lid, the diamonds in the ring reflected the light spilling from the window on the porch, causing it to sparkle brightly. Dropping to my knee in front of her, I reached for her hand. It was trembling.

"Bella, I meant it last year at Christmas when I asked you to marry me. And even though you said yes, it's never really felt official to me. That's partly because we kept it to ourselves. But not having _my_ ring on _your_ finger has been the biggest cause of that feeling for me. That said, I _needed_ to have it come from me, and only me. To have it be something I worked for and earned. Just like your love. So even though it's a bit late, I _need_ to give you this ring tonight, before we go in there." I nodded, indicating the room full of people on the other side of the door. "I love you so much, and I need everyone to know it, okay?"

She nodded slightly, tears shimmering from the tips of her eye lashes.

"Yes?"

"Yes," she whispered.

"_Yes_."

Smiling widely, I slipped the ring onto her finger. She held her hand out, admiring the sparkling stones that now circled her finger. While the diamonds twinkled brightly, they were nothing compared to the way that her eyes sparkled. Of course, the tears dripping onto her cheeks might have had something to do with that. Rising to my feet and pocketing the now-empty box, I swept her into my arms and kissed her again. This time, there was no holding back, and when we finally parted, we both needed a minute to straighten our clothes and hair and wayward bodies.

This time, when I asked her if she was ready, her answer was a resounding 'yes'.

"Just remember to keep everything under wraps as long as possible, okay?" I reminded her.

"I know what to do, Edward. I helped plan the surprise, _remember_?"

"So…" I paused, scratching my head and frowning sheepishly. "Even though I just gave you the big speech about how much I needed my ring on your finger, do you think you can make a little effort to hide it for a few minutes?"

She moved to take it off, and I immediately stopped her.

"Not off, Bella," I said in a serious tone. "I never want to see you without my ring on your finger again. Just hidden, okay?"

She rolled her eyes, but twisted the ring so the stones faced her palm. Even though she smiled at me, her answer was all snark.

"Yes, Edward."

I was getting ready to spout off some smart-ass retort when the door opened and Charlie appeared, looking at us with raised eyebrows.

"You guys coming in, or are you going to stand out here all night and argue?"

Bella and I looked at each other, then burst out laughing. The… _passionate_… nature of our relationship was well known to all of our friends and family.

"Argue," we replied in stereo.

"Can't fight nature, right Chief?" I asked as I smacked Bella lightly on the butt.

She _oomphed_. The moustache twitched.

"No, Edward, I guess you can't. You might want to hurry it up, though. I think your parents are getting anxious to see you."

"I'm sure they are," I sighed. "Okay… let's do this!"

~/~

Things stayed 'under wraps' for all of fifteen minutes.

I was talking to Emmett and Jasper by the fireplace, just like that Christmas Eve four years ago, when I heard the first squeal. It was followed immediately by several others. Glancing to the dining area, I saw that Bella was surrounded by Rose, Alice, Angela and my mother. My mother was holding Bella's hand up to the light, and all the girls were poking at her ring finger. As if feeling me watching her, she raised her eyes to meet mine and gave a little shrug. But her eyes were bright, and her happy grin lit up her entire face, so I just smiled indulgently. Hell, I'd known going in that the ring would speed up the process. In all honesty, I was thankful for the abbreviated wait.

Our goofy exchange of smiles was interrupted by Emmett's exclamation.

"Dude! Is Bella wearing a ring?"

"No, Emmett, she's not," I deadpanned.

"But why is everyone looking…" His words trailed off when he realized I was staring at him in exasperation. He really was gullible. He grinned and shrugged. "Sorry. No, wait… I don't mean that I'm sorry that you're engaged," he assured when I shot him a dirty look. "Dammit… You know what I mean!"

He stomped off to refill his drink, and Jasper and I burst out laughing. Some things really never change. Years later, Emmett was still a pro at putting his foot in his mouth or saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.

"So, congrats, Edward," Jasper said, clapping me on the back. "Man… I never imagined I'd see this day. You and Bella Swan." He shook his head. "Remember back in high school—"

I cut him off.

"You know what, Jas? No. I don't want to remember." Lifting my head, I smiled widely as I watched Bella talking with her friends and family, proud that everyone now knew without a doubt that she was mine. Without taking my eyes off her, I continued talking to Jasper. "It doesn't matter what happened back then because that girl _is_ my life now. I won't screw it up by taking unnecessary and unpleasant trips down memory lane." With one last smile at my fiancée, I turned to Jasper with a knowing look. "Besides, that's a road you really fucking don't want to go down with me now, is it?"

His gaze turned to Alice, the girl who had once annoyed the shit out of him as well. They'd been dating as long as Bella and me.

"No… I guess not," he admitted.

"Of course, you know this means that Alice will now be expecting for you to propose next, don't you?"

He groaned. "Fuck, man… Why'd you guys have to go be all noble and shit. I love her, but I'm not ready for that kind of commitment yet."

Emmett clapped Jasper on the shoulder as he returned. "Don't knock it, Whitlock. Getting married isn't that bad. In fact, I'm finding it highly enjoyable."

Emmett and Rose had tied the knot over the summer, right after they both graduated.

"Isn't it scary, knowing that _that_ is the only person you will ever have sex from here on out? That you'll never sleep with anyone else?"

Emmett and I eyed each other for a moment, then answered simultaneously. "No."

Jasper rolled his eyes. "You don't count," he stated pointing to Emmett.

"Why not?"

"Rose is the only girl you've ever been with—you've been together since you were both fifteen. Edward and I have known many women," he intoned in a suggestive voice. He turned to me. "Right, Cullen?"

I just shook my head. "None of the others hold a fucking candle, Jas. When it's right, you'll know it."

He sighed in defeat. "Oh, I know it. That's the fucking problem. I'm just not ready to admit that to _her_ yet."

Emmett and I both laughed at his forlorn expression.

"Ah… young love!" I exclaimed as I gave Jasper one last supportive back-clap. Then I looked up and saw Bella nodding to me. "And speaking of love… If you guys will excuse me, my fiancée is calling to me."

I met her half-way across the room. Slipping my arm around her waist, I bent to brush my lips across hers briefly. Her hand grasped mine tightly.

"You doing okay, love?" I asked.

"I am now."

"Good. Are you ready to really get this party started?"

She took a deep breath. "It's now or never."

I could tell that she was nervous. My eyes searched hers, and my smile faded.

"Bella, we don't have to do this," I assured her. "We can keep things the way they are."

She shook her head slightly. "No. I don't want that." A tremulous smile graced the corners of her lips. "I'm ready."

"Okay, then. Hold on, here we go."

Holding hands, we walked to the main room. As if sensing that something was up, the room of people immediately fell silent and turned to look at us.

"Bella and I have an announcement," I started. "As you all know, Bella graduated last week. She moved in with me over the weekend, but I really don't want to make a dishonest woman of her. So… I've asked her to marry me, and she's said yes."

I held her hand up, exposing her new ring. A few cheers, and many _aw_'s echoed throughout the room. Her father relaxed, a happy tear gathering in the corner of his eye. I held my other hand up to quiet the crowd.

"Well, we have another surprise announcement."

Charlie immediately stiffened, and I saw his and several other pairs of eyes drift down to look at Bella's obviously flat stomach. Her hand squeezed mine.

"No, Charlie, you don't need a shotgun. She's not pregnant. We'd like to be married for a while first."

The moustache twitched, and a sigh of relief washed through the room.

"But, the sooner we get married, the sooner that can happen. Now, as most of you know, Christmas Eve is special for us. It's our 'anniversary' per-se, the night we first really talked, the night we first kissed, the night we began to fall in love. It's also the night I proposed. I asked her a year ago," I paused when a few eyebrows shot up in surprise, and I tossed my hand up to prevent the questions that I knew were coming. "But it was a spontaneous thing, and I didn't have a ring, so we didn't say anything then. We have a plan now."

I turned to Bella and smiled. "This night means a lot to both of us."

She smiled in return and nodded, as did our friends and family. Our history was old news now.

"So…" I continued, turning away from Bella to look once again at the crowd. "We'd like to continue our tradition of making Christmas Eve special by getting married here, tonight, if that's okay with all of you?"

Gasps and twittering voices filled the air, but all responses were affirmative.

Within fifteen minutes, the room had been transformed thanks to Angela Weber. We'd had to let someone in on our secret because we needed some help to pull this off. She'd been the perfect answer since we'd asked her father to marry us. Several rows of chairs had been arranged in front of the arched doorway that separated the dining room from the den and served as the altar, a small cake magically appeared in the dining room, and Dr. Weber had donned his ministerial robe, which had been hanging in his car. Bella and I had both changed; she was now wearing a simple white winter dress and I had donned a suit. Outside of Bella's flowers and my boutonniere, the sprig of mistletoe hanging from the doorway above us was the only decoration. That, too, was fitting—in fact, we'd insisted upon it—since it had ultimately been a sprig of mistletoe that brought us together in the first place.

It was perfect.

Simple and down to earth.

Us.

Surrounded by our best friends and family, Bella and I exchanged vows, promising to love and cherish through sickness and health, as long as we both shall live. When it was done, we kissed, under the mistletoe, just like that first night. Only this time, there was no hiding.

The promise in the kiss had already been fulfilled.

As if the heavens had been smiling upon us, snow began to fall on Forks at Christmas sometime during the ceremony. I couldn't help but think that it was a sign. Once again, it was completely fitting. Just like that first Christmas, when we opened the door and stepped out onto the porch at the end of the evening, it was completely white outside—a layer of snow made everything look pristine and untouched.

A whole new path was laid out before us. But this time, there would be two sets of footprints in the snow, not just one. This time, we'd be walking that new path together.

~/~

Later that night, I lay naked in bed with my arms wrapped around my wife. As she spooned against my chest, I was filled with a sense of pride and honor at being able to call her that.

_My wife_.

We'd been through so much in the past eight years... If you'd have asked me at sixteen, I would have laughed in derision at the thought of one day being married to Bella. Hell, if you'd asked me at ten-thirty in the evening on that Christmas Eve four years ago, I'd have said the same thing. But an hour of conversation, a sprig of mistletoe and one kiss was all it had taken to change my perspective. As I'd told Jasper earlier tonight, no one else had ever compared to her. Once I'd opened up to her, I had _just known_. She was _it_—my everything.

And now, she was mine for all eternity.

I leaned in to kiss her gently, reverently, on the neck. My lips paused at her ear.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Merry Christmas, Bella," I whispered as I kissed her once again.

A soft smile touched her lips. "You, too. And Edward?

"Hmm…"

"Happy Anniversary."

* * *

**A/N:** So, this is it, the end of this journey for MistletoeWard. I hope that you guys are all happy for both him and Bella. Just so you know, MistletoeWard never would have found his HEA without all of your kind words, support and encouragement!

Thank you so much!

:)

KL


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